Bill Compton Is Not The Only Repairman In Town
by WandersFar
Summary: Alternative ending to Book 5: Dead As A Doornail. Eric is not a complete moron and does not call in Sookie's ex-boyfriend for a simple repair job. Things proceed from there. Rated T for now, but will eventually go M.
1. 1 Sookie

A/N: I was recently re-reading one of my favorite scenes from Dead As A Doornail, and it struck me how completely stupid it was for Eric to call Bill to repair Sookie's window. Of all the vampires in his Area who owe him fealty, he calls Sookie's ex-boyfriend? Really? Is he trying to cockblock himself?

Of course, we all know the real reason he calls Bill. It's so Charlaine can prevent Eric and Sookie from getting down for another four books. Well, I have the opposite agenda.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Charlaine Harris; I'm just borrowing them to correct a grave injustice.

* * *

><p>"Tara, please. You have to go to the hospital. You could be seriously hurt." I stroked my friend's back, but withdrew my hand when I saw her flinch in pain.<p>

"No, Sookie. I couldn't live with the shame of it." Tara ground out weakly.

"The shame of what? Being beaten to within an inch of your life? Tara, that's nothing to be ashamed of!"

"Everyone around town knows I was going with Mickey, Sookie. They'll all know he did this to me and… I just don't want this getting out. They'll think I'm a fangbanger."

I was pretty sure everyone in Bon Temps already thought Tara was a fangbanger, but I held my tongue.

"You can have some of my blood." I looked up sharply at Eric. I'd never known him to offer blood to a human before. Well, any human besides me, though he didn't so much offer as trick me into that.

"No!" Tara would have screamed had she had the strength. "Anything but that."

Eric shrugged and whipped out his phone, dialing a number rapidly before retreating to a corner of the room. I staggered to my feet and fetched my pain pills and a glass of water from the kitchen. "Here," I pressed one on her. "Swallow this while we figure something out."

"What is it?"

"One of the drugs I got for my shoulder while it heals. It won't knock you out, but it should take the edge off a bit."

Tara obediently took the pill and chased it down with the glass of water. I watched her swallow painfully. Mickey had really done a number on her throat.

"Ludwig is on her way." Eric told me. I nodded at him gratefully.

"What? Who's that?" Tara's eyes were wide and terrified as she looked from Eric to me.

"She's a doctor, honey. A supe doctor. She's very good, though she's kind of a bitch." I smiled at her reassuringly.

"I don't want to see some supe doctor. I am done with supernaturals! It's nothing but humans for me from here on out."

"Tara, I'm sort of a supernatural," I pointed out, surprising myself a little. I'd never referred to myself as a supe before, but I was unexpectedly comfortable with the term. It was better than 'freak,' at least. "Are you done with me?"

"No, Sookie, of course not! I owe you everything. I owe you my life." We embraced each other.

"Good. Then listen to me. Dr. Ludwig's treated me before, and I'm still here, right? So you do what she says and you'll be fine in no time." Tara nodded hesitantly.

"I've arranged for you to stay at a supe clinic just outside of Clarice while you recover," Eric said. "It is known only to supernaturals. There will be no humans there to 'shame' you." He looked like he was fighting the urge to roll his eyes. I scowled at him.

The pill seemed to be taking effect. Tara was becoming more docile by the minute. I thought she would protest when Eric told her he'd shipped her off to some clinic somewhere, but she seemed to take it in stride. I glanced out my broken window and noticed the storm had abated. Thank god for small favors. At least Tara wouldn't have to be carried out in the rain.

There was a knock at the door. Eric went to open it.

"Dr. Ludwig, a pleasure to see you again, as always."

"Fuck off, fanger. Where's the girl?" Eric cocked his head towards Tara and me, still huddled on the floor by the broken window.

Ludwig brushed past Eric carelessly and marched right up to us, nudging me aside. Two orderlies trailed after her, carrying a stretcher between them. She peered into Tara's face curiously.

"What is she? She smells like regular old human to me."

"I am a regular old human!" Tara said indignantly.

"So why the fuck did you call me, then, Vampire?" Ludwig turned to Eric accusingly.

Eric shrugged. "She refused to go to a human hospital, and your clinic is known for its… discretion. Besides, how could I deprive her of your charming bedside manner?" I snickered.

Ludwig muttered a string of profanities in some ancient language before ordering her men to load Tara into the stretcher. They carefully lifted my friend into it, and then carried her out to a waiting ambulance. I followed them and was about to get in with her when Eric blurred in front of me.

"Eric, get out of my way."

"No. You're not going with her."

"The hell I'm not. I'm not leaving her by herself in some strange place with even stranger people she doesn't know."

"She will be well looked after. And you are injured. You are not going anywhere tonight."

I opened my mouth to tell him where to get off, ordering me around like this, when Tara interrupted me. "It's okay, Sookie. I'll be fine. I have my cell; I'll call you if I need anything."

I frowned. "Are you sure? I'll come with you if you want, it's really no trouble—"

"No, Sookie, you've already done so much for me. You need to rest." Tara smiled at me weakly. I peeked into her head to see if she was being honest or just putting up a brave front, but she seemed to be genuinely okay with this. I sighed and acquiesced.

"Okay, but you call me first thing in the morning, you hear?" After she promised to and I squeezed her hand in goodbye, Ludwig's people closed the ambulance doors and drove Tara into the night.

A pickup pulled into my little driveway almost as soon as the ambulance had left. I could just make out the logo on the side of the truck in the dim light from the streetlamps. Andersen Windows. I raised my eyebrows. It wasn't exactly normal business hours, and I hadn't even thought about the broken window, let alone called around for a repairman. How… of course. Eric.

"Thank you," I told him sincerely. "Send me the bill and I'll be glad to—"

He cut me off with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it. The shifter's homeowner's insurance should cover it."

I doubted that, unless Sam's policy had a special clause for damage due to acts of god or the undead, but I was too tired to argue. I accepted Eric's generosity as payment for the favor he'd extracted from me earlier. That eased my conscience a little. After all, if Salome had scooped up Mickey a little sooner, I wouldn't have a pile of broken glass and blood on my living room floor right now and Tara would be in a lot better shape. That wasn't really Eric's fault but I was inclined to blame him anyway. I had a feeling I'd be paying for my part of our little bargain for a while.

Wearily, I trudged back into my apartment to assess the damage. I was happy to see it wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated. I expected broken furniture from my scuffle with Mickey, but other than the window, everything seemed to be alright, if a little askew.

After removing the remains of the window while noting down its dimensions, the workmen put up a temporary cover over the hole that was left, promising to return in the morning to install the replacement. It had all been done very quickly, and they'd swept up the glass, too, which I was thankful for, though the linoleum was still sticky and wet with blood and rain. The workmen hadn't mentioned the blood, though I suppose working for vampires, they'd seen much worse.

I retreated into the bathroom and returned with a mop. I awkwardly started to clean up the remaining mess, which was a little tricky doing one-handed.

Eric stood off to the side, watching me. He didn't offer to help, oh no, but he was perfectly content to stand there and watch me.

I finished mopping up the mess and straightened a little painfully. I must have tweaked my back at some point, putting all my weight on one side.

"You need my blood."

"What? No, I don't."

"You've been shot, you've been beaten and you're in obvious pain. You'll drink." Eric raised his wrist to his mouth, his fangs already extended.

"No, Eric. I've got pills for that. Thank you for the offer, but I'm fine. Really." I picked up the mop and carried it back to the bathroom, rinsing it off and leaving it in the tub to drip dry.

When I emerged back into the living room, Eric was still standing in the same spot. I wondered why he was still here. Weren't we done?

When I started to shift the coffee table back into position, Eric finally deigned to help me. He batted my hands away and straightened out the room with incredible speed. I thanked him and collapsed onto the sofa, letting my eyelids flicker shut. To my surprise, he joined me.

"And now, we will finish our conversation." I opened my eyes in disbelief.

"Really? Is there anything left to talk about?"

"Oh yes." He took my hand in his. "We have much to discuss."


	2. 2 Eric

"You won't stop pestering me until we do this, huh?"

I grinned at her. "No, I won't."

She sighed. "Fine, then let's just get it over with."

I couldn't resist teasing her a little. "Are you yielding to me, Sookie?" I winked at her.

"Yes," Sookie said warily. "To your questions! Don't get any bright ideas."

I chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it. Though perhaps you have?" I gave her hand a little squeeze.

When she didn't bite, I continued. "So how long were you able to resist me?"

"Oh for Pete's sake, Eric!"

"It's a valid question."

Sookie narrowed her eyes at me. "Two days."

"That long? I must be losing my touch." I stroked her palm with my thumb. Her face was impassive, but I could feel her pulse quicken. She wasn't as indifferent to me as she wanted me to believe. Interesting. "Tell me what happened."

"I already did."

"No, Sookie. In detail. That was part of our deal, don't you remember?"

"Eric, I am not giving you a play-by-play, and even if I could…" Sookie trailed off laughing.

"What?" I smiled back at her.

"I was just thinking it would take the better part of the night to go through it all and I don't have that kind of energy."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well I was hoping you'd just tell me about it, but if you're up for a re-enactment, I'd be happy to oblige—"

"Oh hush," Sookie cut me off, still laughing softly to herself.

This was fun. I'd missed this. "So I said you were the best I've ever had."

"Yep, you sure did." I thought I could detect just a trace of smugness in her expression.

"That's high praise, coming from me."

"Oh yes, I was very flattered," Sookie played along. "Though of course, you couldn't remember all the women you've had, so while I appreciate the compliment, I've managed to keep my ego in check."

"Well I'm sure it was deserved, in any case. I can't imagine sex with you being anything short of spectacular."

Sookie flushed bright red. I let my eyes graze over her luscious body. She watched me do it, and I was glad to see it. I wanted her to know just how much I wanted her. Not that I'd ever kept that secret.

I was surprised when she returned the gesture with a surreptitious appraisal of her own. I pretended not to notice.

Sookie lowered her lashes. "You weren't so bad yourself," she breathed, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips.

"Oh really?" I grinned broadly. "Tell me, Sookie, was I the best you've ever had?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes, I would very much like to know." I looked her straight in the eyes. She looked away. "But I see I've upset your human modesty, so I'll move on. For now."

She tried to conceal her exhale of relief but I caught it anyway. Silly woman, trying to hide her emotions from me. She'd had my blood. She couldn't keep anything from me for long. I inhaled slightly. Even her scent betrayed her. She was aroused. I could smell it, hidden as it was beneath the lingering odors of shifter, Were, and fae. The sweet, intoxicating aroma of Sookie drowned everything else out. I could feel my fangs start to run out in response. I changed the subject quickly.

"Take off your shirt."

Sookie laughed a little nervously. "Wow, that's fresh, even for you."

I made a frustrated noise. "I'm not trying to ogle you, Sookie. I want to look at your wound." Okay, maybe I was trying to ogle her. But I was genuinely concerned with her injury. Honest.

Sookie eyed me dubiously, but obligingly lifted her top over her head. As the fabric briefly hid her face from view, I took the opportunity to admire her generous cleavage. Her breasts were as gorgeous as I'd remembered, that night the maenad had attacked her and I held her in my lap as Pam took her turn sucking out the poison. I'd never been more grateful I kept my office on the cool side. Her breasts jiggled a little as she pulled one arm free from the top, the fabric straining to contain all of her within it. I wondered how they'd taste.

But the gaping wound in her left shoulder captured my attention. I would enjoy murdering the son of a bitch who did this to her. I would do it slowly. I would take my time.

Her arm caught as she tried to slip the shirt over her injured limb. Wordlessly, I moved to help her. As I pulled the garment free, I knelt between her legs, pushing them apart so I could closely examine her injury. I was not insensitive to the effect our new position had on her. I inhaled again. Her scent was stronger now.

Her breath caught. "Eric, this is really not necessary. The doctor says I'll be totally healed in just a couple weeks and—"

"Shut up and let me take care of you." She threw me a dirty look, but held still, which was my objective. After studying her shoulder for a minute or two, I glanced up at her. "This will hurt, but it will be over soon, I promise."

She nodded and braced herself. I leaned over and bit open her stitches, exposing her wound fully. She yelped in pain, and her blood started to flow. I lapped up a few delicious drops but then contained myself. Now was not the time to feed, no matter how heavenly she tasted.

I bit my wrist and pressed it directly onto the wound, squeezing with my free hand to encourage my blood to flow into her. In under a minute, the healing was complete. I removed my wrist and observed the pale, new skin covering Sookie's shoulder. It contrasted sharply against the rest of her tan flesh. I brushed a kiss where the bullet had entered her body before licking her clean of any excess blood.

"Try raising your arm a little." She tentatively did as I bade her, and was pleased with the result. She experimented by rotating her shoulder, testing her full range of motion. I saw her getting ready to swing her arm back and forth and stopped her. "Whoa, not so fast. You've just healed; you'll want to take it easy for a while."

"Oh, but it feels great!"

"Well, yes, you still have my blood running through your veins. But once that wears off, the soreness will return. It looks like the muscles and tendons have regenerated nicely, though. You should be good as new in a day or two."

"Thanks, Eric." I grunted an acknowledgment before checking over the rest of her body for signs of injury. She had a few marks here and there from that asshole, Mickey, but I could see they were already beginning to fade. The remaining blood that didn't go towards healing her shoulder would take care of these smaller cuts and bruises.

Satisfied her body was as healed as I could make it, I reached up and took her chin in my hand. I looked her face over carefully, but whatever damage Mickey might have done, I could no longer detect it. I released her but didn't move away. Her lips were slightly parted and she was staring at me with an intensity I found very exciting. I moved in to close the distance between us, but she shook herself and fell back against the couch. I stifled a groan. Why was she fighting this? She wanted me, it was plain to see, and she had to know I wanted her, but still she resisted.

"Very pretty bra, by the way." She scowled at me and I smirked. "Oh, but I got a little blood on it. I'm sorry. Here, let me take it off and wash it for you." I reached around her to undo her clasp, but she batted me away with both hands.

"Yeah, I don't think so, Eric."

"But it'll stain."

"I'll throw it in the cold water wash. It'll be fine." She looked at me darkly.

I laughed and got up from my knees, reclaiming my seat by her side. Sookie reached for her discarded shirt and pulled it back on. I pouted, but I couldn't come up with an excuse to keep it off of her.

I moved a little closer to her and reached for her hand again, brushing my fingers against her thigh as I did so. She didn't object.

We sat together quietly for a few moments. Sookie interlocked her fingers with mine and rested her head against my shoulder. I could hear her breathing slow and deepen as she relaxed against me. This felt wonderful. This felt familiar. This felt right.

So of course I had to ruin the moment with a stupid question.

"Why were you so reluctant to tell me all this?"

As I watched her face fall, I regretted asking what had been gnawing at me for weeks now. It was bad enough not knowing, but her obvious discomfort in revealing how we'd spent our time together… what did it mean? Did she regret the sex? Had I frightened her in some way? I didn't think I was imagining her avoidance of me lately. Had it not been for the shifter's injury, I strongly doubted she would have stepped foot in Fangtasia again. That evening I awoke in her house, I knew something had changed. There was a tension between us that hadn't been there before. I needed to know what was behind it all. Did she love me? Hate me? Want nothing more to do with me? I had to know.

But I thought it would have been better to go on not knowing when I saw Sookie start to shut down at my words. She abruptly pulled away from me, dropping my hand and wrapping her arms around herself. I felt cold, my body already missing her warmth.

"You know why. Now you'll always have power over me."

I frowned. "Why would you think that? Because we had sex?"

She threw me an exasperated look. "No, because now you can blackmail me into doing anything you want. Don't bullshit me, Eric, I know that's what you've been thinking since I confessed to you."

I blinked. I had no idea what she was talking about. "I don't understand. How could I blackmail you? Why would I even want to?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? I killed someone, Eric! You are the only witness. You could go to the police and tell them I shot Debbie and ruin my life in an instant."

I was hurt she could even think I would betray her like that. Did she think that lowly of me?

With a stony expression, I appealed to her reason. "That doesn't make any sense, Sookie. First of all, I don't remember what happened that night for myself. How could I testify against you, if all the knowledge I have is hearsay? From you, I might add. Somehow, I don't think the police would be too willing to accept 'amnesia brought on by a witch's curse' as an explanation for my not coming forward until now. It would be your word against mine, and whom do you think they'll believe? The local darling, or the foreign hellspawn?

"Secondly, I am your accomplice. According to you, I buried her body and hid her car. If this were to get out, we'd most certainly be co-defendants. I would be there right alongside you. I am just as guilty as you are, and as vampire, I am a far more attractive scapegoat. I find it hard to believe a jury of your peers could convict you of anything, Sookie. Me? They would execute in a heartbeat.

"And thirdly, we already have an arrangement. You agree to work for me as long as I don't kill any humans. This has worked out well for both of us for months now. Why would I need any more leverage over you? You already willingly work for me. I would gain nothing by blackmailing you that I couldn't just ask for now."

I left out my fourth point. If she really thought I'd blackmail her into doing something against her will, she'd never believe me anyway.

Sookie looked unconvinced. "I'm not so sure what I just told you is hearsay so much as a confession. That is admissible in court." I raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I've seen Law & Order, too, Eric. And you probably have an army of lawyers at your disposal, not to mention powerful friends in both the human and supernatural communities. There's not a doubt in my mind you could finagle yourself a way out of any legal trouble. Plus, I'm already public enemy number one in Bud Dearborn's book, and Amanda, the Were in charge of the local supe investigation, isn't such a big fan, either. The Shreveport police and the private detectives Debbie Pelt's family hired all think Alcide and I were having an affair, which gives me ample motive in their eyes. All I need is a whiff of suspicion aimed in my direction, and I'm up shit creek without a paddle!"

I had to hand it to her. She made a pretty convincing argument.

"As for you, you tricked me into drinking your blood in Dallas just so you could gain some leverage over me. You're not exactly Mr. Straightforward in your dealings with me or anyone else. Why wouldn't you relish the thought of having just one more card to play against me, should I ever step out of line?"

Again, I silently admired her logic. I'd given her little reason to trust me in the past, though I'd hoped my actions in Mississippi had gone a ways towards rectifying that state of affairs.

"You've made several excellent points. I'd argue that you have entirely the wrong idea with respect to my motives, but of course, if you were right about me I'd say that anyway to win your trust." I smiled ruefully at her.

Sookie snorted. "So you admit you're just tickled pink to find out about Debbie?"

"No, Sookie, I couldn't give a fuck about her. I wish I'd killed her myself back in Jackson for all the trouble she's caused you. You did the world a favor, and if it hadn't been you, someone else would have taken her out eventually. She had it coming."

"Well I know you never thought much of her, since vamps dislike all the two-natured, but don't tell me you're not glad I confessed to you?"

"I am glad you told me, Sookie. But not because I can use the information against you. As I've been trying to explain, I'm on your side. I want to help you, though you make that difficult when you keep things from me."

"Why? What do you care what happens to me?"

"What do I care what happens to you?" I repeated incredulously. "How can you say that? Sookie, you're my… friend. I very much care what happens to you."

"I'm your asset, is what you mean. You'd hate to lose my telepathy."

"Your gift is very useful," I admitted. "But you can't honestly think that's all you are to me? You think I regularly travel out of state to watch over my other employees? You think I assign bodyguards to them? Drop everything and fly to them when they call me?"

She was breathing a little heavily now. "What are you saying, Eric?"

"I'm saying you're important to me. And I don't like that someone's after you. First your house gets burned down, and now this?" I gestured to her shoulder. "You should have called me as soon as it happened. Why didn't you?"

"I got shot during the day, Eric."

"You should have called Bobby, then."

"Who's Bobby?"

"My dayman." I pulled out a notepad from my pocket and gave her his number, and my cell, too. "If you're ever attacked during the day, call Bobby and then leave me a voicemail. He knows all my contacts; he'll send you protection until I can get there myself."

"Okay." She studied the slip of paper and then slipped it into her pocket. "Thank you. But it's rare that someone's attacking me within convenient range of a pay phone." She gave me a sad little smile.

I frowned. "Don't you have a cellphone?"

"No."

"Sookie, what millennium are you living in? Everybody has a cellphone."

"I don't need one. I do just fine without one." She sounded defensive.

I opened my mouth to point out how stubborn she was being, and then closed it again. Of course. She couldn't afford one. "I'm adding you to my plan."

"No, thanks."

"I'm doing it. It'll make contacting you more convenient when you're working for me, and anyway, I have a ridiculous number of rollover minutes just sitting in my account. Someone might as well make use of them."

Sookie looked at me curiously.

"Free nights and weekends? Vampires never use their plan minutes."

She laughed. "Of course."

"The telecom industry has a good racket going, charging us their human rates. Wish I'd thought of it."

"Oh, would you have started your own vampire cellular company?"

"Maybe. That's not a bad idea, actually. But the FCC would never go for it. Unless…" I wondered whom I could bribe on the Senate communications subcommittee. Who was up for re-election? I bet Maxwell Lee would know. If I sold my shares in AT&T, I could easily raise the capital, and drive down their stock price as well. Two birds with one stone. I smiled to myself. Or maybe it would be better to approach the board of the company and form a subsidiary branch over their existing network. After all, they already had the infrastructure in place; all I'd need to do is restructure their plans to suit an undead clientele. With the vamp population on the rise in the US, a cellular plan catering exclusively to my kind could be immensely profitable. The competition wouldn't know what hit them.

Sookie cleared her throat. "Sorry to interrupt your plans for global domination, but I'm tired, Eric. Thank you for all your help tonight, but I think I'd like to go to bed now."

"Sure, Sookie." I scooped her up and carried her off to her bedroom.

"Uh, Eric? I think you misunderstand me."

"Do I?" I feigned innocence. "Didn't you just invite me to go to bed with you?"

"I most certainly did not!"

"Well I accept anyway." I slipped through the open doorway and carefully laid her on her bed, mindful of her healing shoulder. I bent and removed her shoes and socks before turning to the dresser and pulling open the top drawer. Hmm. Sookie's underthings. I'd inspect that later. The drawer below held her nightgowns. I retrieved one and handed it to her. She didn't move. "Oh, would you like me to undress you? I thought that would be just a shade too impertinent, but if you insist—"

"Eric, get the hell out of my bedroom!" I laughed as I pulled the door shut behind me. 


	3. 3 Sookie, Eric

I shook my head in disbelief as the door closed behind him. Eric's gall knew no bounds. Had he really just invited himself into my bed, rifled through my underwear drawer, and then offered to strip me naked? What the glorious fuck?

I got to my feet and took off my clothing before reaching for the nightgown Eric had laid on my bed. "I'm sure that's not all he wanted to lay on my bed," I muttered under my breath.

"What's that, darling?" A voice called out from the other side of my bedroom door.

I jumped. "Eric? You're still here?"

"Of course I am. May I enter?"

"No! I'm not decent."

"Oh, now you're just teasing me."

Stupid perpetually horny vampire. I put on my nightgown and marched over to the door. I threw it open and wasn't at all surprised to see Eric standing there in front of me, grinning ear to ear.

I took a deep breath. "Eric, it's very late, and I think it's time you went home."

He pouted. "But Sookie—"

"Don't 'but Sookie' me. I've entertained your questions long enough. I've been more than fair. I got what I wanted and you got what you wanted, end of story."

"I hardly got what I wanted." His eyes raked over me lasciviously. I wished I'd put on my robe.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Well, be that as it may, to my mind, our little bargain is done, over, finito!"

He opened his mouth to protest but I wasn't having any of it. "Now will you kindly leave my apartment, or will I have to rescind your invitation? I don't want to, especially after what you did for Tara (thank you for that, by the way) but come on, Eric. Enough is enough."

Eric looked as if he wanted to argue some more, but then thought better of it. "Very well. I will go." He bent and dropped a kiss on my forehead. "But I will return tomorrow night, my darling. There are still a few more things I'd like to talk over with you." He must have taken in my outraged expression, and quickly added, "Not that you're obligated to discuss them with me. I concede you've been more than fair tonight." He tilted his head to one side. "But I'd appreciate it if you would?"

Oh no. He was giving me the puppy dog eyes. How the hell was I supposed to respond to that?

I stared down at my feet, hating myself for being so easily manipulated. "Fine. You can come over tomorrow night," I grumbled. "I'm working tomorrow, but I should be home a little after midnight."

Eric smiled beatifically down at me. "Thank you, Sookie."

"Yeah, yeah, just get out of here." I closed the door before he could wheedle more out of me.

My grandmother would have had a conniption fit if she'd seen how I'd just dismissed my gentleman caller. I laughed to myself, wondering whether Gran would consider Eric a gentleman. He'd said and done plenty of un-gentlemanly things tonight. Then again, he had taken care of Tara, my broken window, and my shoulder. I sighed. I owed him a better send-off than that.

A little reluctantly, I opened my bedroom door again. He was still standing there, looking amused.

"You really don't know what you want, do you, Sookie?"

"Yes I do." I said automatically.

"Oh?" He smoldered down at me. "What do you want then?"

You. Naked. In my bed now. "I want to see you out properly. Forgive me for my rudeness just now. I shouldn't have shut my door in your face; that wasn't how I was raised. I'm sorry."

"If you kiss me goodnight, I'll forgive you." He flashed me that sexy, boyish smile of his. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to jump him right there.

I walked him to the front door instead.

"Goodnight, Eric. Thank you for everything."

"It's always my pleasure," he said charmingly, before leaning down to kiss me chastely on the cheek. Then he launched himself into the night.

He sure knew how to make an exit.

I flew home in a daze. I don't even remember how I got from Bon Temps to Shreveport. One moment I was kissing Sookie goodnight, and the next I was landing on my doorstep.

My phone rang as I prepared for bed. I checked the ID. Pam.

"So how did the big date with the telepath go?"

"It was wonderful."

"Oh? Did you finally hit that?"

"No."

"Did you kiss her at least?"

"No. Well I did kiss her goodnight, but she didn't kiss me."

"Not on the lips?"

"No. Her forehead. And her cheek." I smiled.

There was a pause. "So what did you do all night?"

"We talked, mostly. And we held hands."

"You held hands," Pam slowly repeated. "Who the fuck are you and what have you done with my maker?"

I sighed. "You wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't understand? Eric, I lived during the Victorian era and saw more action than that!"

Time to change the subject. "How were things at the club tonight?"

"Fine. Nothing interesting to report."

"Good. Well, I'm going to ground. I'm not coming in tomorrow night. Handle things, won't you?"

"Where will you be?"

"I'm seeing her again tomorrow."

"Two nights in a row, and no sex? My, you are smitten."

"Good day, Pam."

"Good day, Eric." 


	4. 4 Pam

I snickered as I powered off my cellphone for the day. I hardly recognized my maker anymore, and the way he described his evening with Sookie… it was so innocent!

'Innocent' was a word I never thought I'd associate with Eric.

Sookie's call into the bar had been a welcome break from routine. Fangtasia was a bit dull tonight, and something interesting always happened whenever my telepathic friend was involved. It was worth the trouble that never failed to accompany her, just for the entertainment value alone. It was hilarious to see Eric, all-powerful Nordic warrior and minor deity in the eyes of the vermin, laid low by a twenty-something barmaid. Sookie's visits always provided me with material for weeks.

I'd advised him on the belt. It was leather and studded with gold grommets. Positively barbaric. If he got lucky, he could use it to tie her up. Eric scowled at me when I'd suggested that, though I've always believed accessories should be both useful and attractive. My extensive collection of stiletto pumps, for instance, had come in handy on more than one occasion. A sharp heel makes a good weapon in a pinch, and I'd used mine to relieve certain unfortunate assailants of superfluous eyes and testicles. (You only really need one of each, and none at all once you've pissed me off.)

Eric had been mooning over Sookie for months now. He hid it well, but I was his child. I could tell. It was really very sweet, although unbecoming of a vampire of his age and stature. I couldn't fathom what he saw in the girl at first; after all, she was a mere human. But as we became more closely acquainted, I started to see what all the fuss was about. Not only did she smell delicious and taste even better (she would have been perfect had it not been for that little drop of poison) but she had sass to her. She had spunk. Her verbal barbs weren't nearly up to par with mine, but given time and a good teacher, she had potential. I would groom her for my maker. (Or for myself, if Eric lost interest, though that hardly seemed likely. Pity for me.)

And I would never forget the service she had rendered him. She had taken Eric in when he was at his most vulnerable, and protected him. That mattered more to me than if she had saved my own life, although, come to think of it, she had done that, too. During our takedown of Hallow's coven, one of the bastards had had me by the throat, feeding on me while I was occupied with Hallow, and Sookie had stabbed him. That was pretty ballsy for a mortal woman with no fighting skills. She was brave, and she was loyal. Those were two qualities both Eric and I valued above all else.

I'd already started to think of Sookie as a little sister. Perhaps one day she would be. There were very few women I'd considered worthy to be Eric's bedmate over the decades, but Sookie was one of them. I liked her and she made him happy. That was enough for me.

She'd been with Bill Compton when she'd first visited Fangtasia, though I knew that relationship wouldn't last. Bill was such a cold fish, and no fun at all. I could smell Sookie was a virgin when I'd met her. That was the only explanation I could come up with for her being with Compton—she'd had no basis of comparison. Well, that had certainly changed now. I'd suspected something had gone on during the week Eric was stashed with her, but it wasn't until the meeting at my house, when he'd practically declared her his in front of Bill, that I was sure. Oh yes. He had definitely hit that. Shame he couldn't remember.

I told him what I suspected, but Eric refused to believe me without proof. Proof? What did he expect me to do? Bring him her panties? I love my maker, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

Bill was nothing compared to my maker, and if Eric wanted Sookie, he'd have her. I was only surprised it had taken him this long to make a move.

I was truly flummoxed by our conversation tonight. I couldn't believe they still hadn't had sex! And not even a kiss? I wasn't kidding when I said I'd seen more action in my human life than Sookie had tonight. Layers of petticoats and crinoline were nothing to an amorous admirer, and the determination and creativity of some of my beaux ensured I'd had some fun on my own before I met Eric. Modern fashions posed no challenge at all and Eric hadn't had to operate under the watchful gaze of a nurse-companion or governess as my young men had done. So honestly, what excuse could he give?

Either Eric was way off his game or Sookie had some supernatural ability beyond her telepathy. I'd never known any woman to resist my maker's undivided attention for an entire evening. I'd have to call her some time and get the full scoop. Eric was no fun when it came to details. I hoped Sookie wouldn't be nearly as prudish. 


	5. 5 Sookie

Daylight peeked through the venetian blinds and fell across my face, bathing me in stripes of warmth. I woke up and stretched out as contentedly as a cat. I felt wonderful. The dull, throbbing ache in my shoulder was completely gone, and though I couldn't have slept more than a couple hours, I felt well-rested and energetic.

In the back of my mind, I knew my well-being was probably a side-effect of Eric's blood, but I didn't think the blood was solely responsible for my good mood. I think Eric himself had a little to do with that.

Last night felt like a new beginning. All the tension that had been building between us over the last few weeks had come to a head, and we'd actually had a real conversation for once, instead of talking around each other in circles. I'd learned several things about him, and he'd learned some things about me as well. Even though I'd dreaded revealing what had gone on between us during those few nights we spent together in January, I was grateful that it was out in the open now, that he knew. It was a relief knowing I wouldn't have to carry those secrets on my own anymore.

He'd taken it all a lot better than I thought he would. His absolute indifference to my murder of Debbie Pelt shocked me. I thought for sure that would be the secret that would excite him the most. I mean, sure, Eric had always wanted to get into my pants, and he'd made no attempt to hide that from me, but the Eric Northman I knew valued money and power over people and relationships. I thought he'd be practically salivating just thinking of all the ways he could exploit this new hold he had over me.

But, to use his own words, he couldn't give a fuck. He actually wished he'd killed Debbie himself to spare me the trouble. This blew my mind. Had I misjudged him so completely?

Apparently I had. He said I was important to him. That he was on my side. It wasn't like I'd thought Eric had been out to get me, but I didn't think he felt that deeply about our… well, relationship, I guess you'd call it. I assumed he viewed me as a useful tool, one that should be looked after and indulged so as to extract the maximum amount of profit out of it. It was business, nothing personal. I didn't think he was a bad guy, I just thought he had his priorities in order, and I definitely wasn't one of them.

But I was wrong. I mattered more to him than I realized. He was infinitely more interested in what had gone on between the two of us personally, than in how he'd helped me cover up a murder. He was fascinated by the idea that we'd actually had sex, and judging from his outrageous behavior last night (which, let's be honest, I really did enjoy—the man was a master flirt) he was eager to start that up again.

I had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, I wanted him. I'd had him. I knew what sex with him would be like, and my body was screaming at me to take him up on his offer pronto.

But on the other hand, I couldn't stand to be just another notch on his bedpost. Eric's reputation was legendary. I had no illusions he'd ever be faithful to me and I couldn't bear the thought of another man cheating on me. When Bill had done that, he'd ripped my heart out and shattered it into a million pieces. Though I'd later learned he had little choice, that when your maker commands you, you must obey, that didn't stop it from hurting like hell.

And Bill wasn't nearly as charismatic as Eric. He didn't have women constantly hanging off of him, just begging to be used by him. For goodness sake, Eric ran a vampire bar where the major source of income came from women wanting to have sex with him! Not even a saint could resist that much temptation.

I didn't like thinking about Eric with other women. I told myself it was ridiculous; I had no claim on him. He was free to have sex whenever and with whomever he chose. But it didn't matter. Just thinking about it hurt me. If I was with him and I knew he was with other women… I couldn't live with that.

He did call me his darling, though. I didn't know what that was about. The last time he'd called me that was the night I'd invited him to the orgy, and I made it clear in no uncertain terms that I was in no way his, darling or otherwise. He didn't argue the point and never called me that again. Until last night.

I tried not to read into that. He was probably just teasing me, same as always.

I was depressing myself and I couldn't have that, so I deliberately pushed it all out of my mind and got up to make my bed. I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard the doorbell ring.

"Just a minute!" I called out. I raced to my room and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before hurrying through my apartment to open the door.

A pale, slightly-built man, probably no more than a couple inches taller than me stood on the doorstep.

He looked me up and down, scrutinizing me. I'm sure I looked a mess. My hair was wet and straggly from my shower, I'd pulled on the first thing I could find out of my dresser, and… oh crap. I'd left off a bra! I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Miss Stackhouse?" I nodded. "Good morning. My name is Bobby Burnham. My employer, Eric Northman, instructed me to come here today and introduce myself."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Burnham, and please, call me Sookie." We shook hands. "Won't you come in?" I held the door for him, closing it as he entered.

"You may call me Bobby," he tossed casually over his shoulder as he strode into the living room. I took in his disdainful expression as he surveyed the room and caught a couple of his thoughts before I raised my shields completely. He didn't think much of my place, or of me, for that matter. He thought it was beneath him to be waiting on his boss's new piece. He should be out handling Eric's important business affairs, not making nice with some floozy with big boobs. Okay, this guy was an asshole. Nothing I wasn't used to dealing with.

I sat on the sofa and gestured for Bobby to have a seat in the armchair across from me. He took it, frowning a little as he sat down. Guess it wasn't up to his standards. Jerk.

I offered him a drink, but he declined. It was obvious he wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. Fine by me.

"Mr. Northman wanted me to give you this." Bobby produced a small box from his coat pocket and handed it to me. I opened it and pulled out a slick-looking phone. "As per his directions, I've programmed it with his, Ms. Ravenscroft's, and my cellular numbers, as well as his direct office extension at Fangtasia, so you can bypass the phone tree."

"Oh, Pam's number is on here, too? Neat." I caught Bobby's sneer out of the corner of my eye. I gathered he wasn't on a first-name basis with Pam, and it griped his butt I was. I hid my smile.

Bobby spent the next few minutes walking me through the phone's features, explaining them with a patronizing slowness. Apparently he thought I was a bimbo as well as a floozy. This guy just kept getting better and better.

"He also ordered me to take you out shopping. He said your place was looking rather spartan." His glance around the room indicated he could think of a few choice terms for my place himself.

Actually, I had planned on doing a little housewares shopping today; I needed a new garbage can, a shower curtain, and a couple of other odds and ends, but I had no intention of having Bobby around as company while I did that.

"Thanks for the offer, but that won't be necessary." Bobby didn't even try to hide his look of relief.

"Will there be anything else, then, Sookie?" He asked stiffly. He looked as if he was in actual pain having to ask the question.

"No, Bobby, thank you for coming out and bringing me the phone." He was out of my apartment in a flash, and not a moment too soon to my mind.

I played around with my new toy for a little while, before getting out my address book and programming my friends' numbers into it. When I got to Tara's number I glanced at the time. It was nearly eleven o'clock. She should be up by now.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tara, how are you feeling?"

"Sookie, is that you?"

"Yup, sure is. How's the clinic? Have they been taking good care of you?"

"Oh yes, everyone's been real nice to me. Well, except for Dr. Ludwig. You were right, she is a heinous bitch. And she hates humans for some reason."

"Don't take it personally; I think she hates everyone."

Tara laughed. "I think you're right. I can hear her cursing at someone right now." She must have pulled the phone away from her ear and held it out to the room, because I could hear the miserable little troll hurling accusations about somebody's mother from some distance away. Then Tara was back on the line again.

"Well, ignoring her sparkling personality, Dr. Ludwig knows her stuff. Whatever drugs or treatments she gave me while I was out, they've worked wonders. I feel great. She says my broken ribs have almost mended, and you can hardly see the bruising on my face anymore."

I shook my head as Tara enumerated the other injuries she'd suffered at the hands of Mickey, and Ludwig's progress treating them. Once again it hit home how close I'd come to losing my childhood friend, and just how dangerous it could be, dating a vampire.

"Where are you calling from? I don't recognize the number."

"It's my new cell number. I figured I'd call you on it and then you could add it to your phonebook."

"You finally broke down and got a cellphone? Good for you! What made you change your mind?"

"Well… actually Eric gave it to me."

"Eric bought you a cellphone?"

"Yes."

"Did something happen between the two of you last night?"

"No! Well he did stay for a while after you left."

"And?"

"And nothing happened. We just talked."

"Hmm."

"What's that 'hmm' supposed to mean?"

"Well, it's just that I heard a lot of gossip about the two of you—"

"What? From whom?"

"From Mickey, and Franklin and that Salome woman, and a bunch of other vampires whose names I didn't catch. They called him 'the tame Viking' and talked about how some telepath had him wrapped around her little finger. It was a big joke down in Baton Rouge."

This was disturbing on multiple levels. I didn't know I had become that widely known in the vampire community. Sure, I'd done a little work in Dallas, and I'd spent some time in Jackson, but I'd hoped the circle of vamps who knew about me and my disability was a lot smaller than it apparently was.

As for the talk circulating around Eric and me, well, I remembered Mickey calling Eric my "tame vamp" last night, but I didn't think we'd become grist for the vampire gossip mills! Though it was personally embarrassing for me, these rumors could be dangerous for Eric. I knew enough of vampire politics to intuit that posturing and image were crucial. Eric had carefully cultivated a reputation for ruthlessness over god knows how many centuries, and now that perception was in jeopardy, all because of his association with me.

And if Eric's standing in the vampire hierarchy was in danger, so was everybody connected to him: Pam, Bill, all of the vampires who owed him fealty, and me.

But maybe I was overthinking this. Maybe it really wasn't that bad, just a few jokes here and there but no real threat. I had to talk to him about this.

"When did you hear all this, Tara?"

"A couple weeks ago, during a dinner party." She paused. "I was the third course."

Ouch. I knew Tara had been passed from Franklin to Mickey, but I didn't realize she'd been shared at vamp parties as well. How demeaning.

"I'm just glad to be totally out of that world now and I'm ready to move on with my life."

"Good for you. If anyone can, you will."

"And you're sure Mickey won't touch me anymore?"

"I'm positive. If he even comes near you, Eric will be well within his rights to stake him on the spot. But from what I gather, he's with Salome now, and she's carrying out her own brand of justice." I shuddered. I didn't know what tortures Salome had in store for Mickey, but if it was anything like what I'd seen Lorena do to Bill, I almost pitied the asshole vampire. 'Almost' being the operative word there.

Tara breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you again, Sookie, for calling in Eric and saving my life. I know it must have cost you. Dealing with vamps… there's always a price to pay, isn't there?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But don't worry about it. Eric and I are square now, and I didn't get out of the deal too badly."

We chatted a bit more after that, and then Tara had to hang up to begin her next round of treatments. I wished her well, and she told me she should be out in a day or two.

Almost as soon as I'd ended my call with Tara, the phone started to ring. I checked the ID. It was the window people. They let me know they'd be at my apartment within the hour to install the replacement window, and they were true to their word. After they left, my little rental unit was looking just as pristine as the day Sam had let it to me. It was hard to believe that was only two days ago. It seemed like a heck of a lot longer than that.

It was still early in the afternoon, so I had plenty of time to go to the Walmart in Clarice and get my shopping done. Afterwards, I returned to my little duplex on Berry Street, put away my purchases and got ready for work. On my way out, I noticed a gardenia bush sitting on the porch. I read the card attached to it. It was from Calvin Norris. That was thoughtful of him. I made a mental note to pay him a visit in Hotshot when he got out of the hospital.

Sweetie Des Arts, Merlotte's latest short-order cook, was standing outside smoking a cigarette as I arrived.

"Hey there, Sookie. You're looking pretty good for someone who just got shot."

"Thanks Sweetie."

"You sure are a hard woman to kill."

That was an unsettling compliment. I plastered my too bright smile on my face, the one I put on when I'm nervous, and made grateful noises and other small talk before I excused myself to start my shift.

I dropped by Sam's office to stow away my purse. He'd been waiting for me. He wasn't happy.

"What were you doing when you got shot?"

"Hi Sam, it's nice to see you, too," I muttered.

"Sookie!"

"Nothing, okay? I was at the library, picking up some books."

"Then before that. Where were you?"

"At the hospital. I was visiting Calvin Norris."

"So you had his scent on you."

"Yeah, I suppose," I groaned in frustration. Why was everyone so obsessed with my scent lately? "Sam, I've already been over this with Eric—"

"Eric! What the hell does he have to do with this?"

"Nothing, it's just that he came over last night and he thought I smelled like too many shifters, too."

"Too many shifters?" Sam leaned over in his chair to sniff me. "I smell panther. I guess that's Calvin. And wolf. Who's that?"

"Alcide Herveaux."

"You've been seeing Alcide?" Sam looked disapproving.

"Yeah, he stopped by my house the other day. So what?"

Sam ignored me and sniffed again. "There's a strong scent of vampire. Just what exactly were you and Eric doing last night?"

"Nothing, not that it's any of your damn business."

"Sookie—"

"I don't want to talk about it. Just go on with your analysis, Mr. Super Sniffer."

Sam cracked a smile at that, and inhaled one last time. "And there's something else here." He frowned. "I'm not sure, but I think it's another shifter. Very weak, though. Maybe not a born shifter, but a bitten one." He leaned back in his chair, looking at me inquisitively.

"Jason?" I ventured. I hadn't seen my brother in a couple days, but he was the only bitten shifter I knew.

"Naw, it's not him. I know his scent."

"Then I have no idea who that would be."

"Neither do I. As far as I know, there are no other bitten shifters around here."

"So what does that tell us?"

"Someone you've been around recently is a bitten shifter."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. I meant, what does that tell us about the killer?"

"Well he had to have been someone who thought you were a shifter, and he probably would have deduced that from your smell."

"So he has to be a shifter, too, right? Or a vampire. Or some other supernatural being."

"Right. Though if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on the bitten shifter. I'll sniff around town tonight, see if I can pick up that scent around the crime scenes."

"I'll come with you. You can't drive with that leg of yours, and that way, you can stay shifted the whole time." Sam nodded his approval of my plan. "Oh, but wait. Shit."

"What?"

"I had plans tonight. But it's okay, I'll just call to cancel."

Sam looked suspicious, but wisely said nothing.

I left Sam's office, tied on my apron, and got to work. It was still early in the evening, so Merlotte's was pretty slow. As soon as it was completely dark out, I ducked outside to make a call.

I pulled out my phone and considered my options. I could call Eric directly and tell him not to come. That was the stand-up thing to do, but it would provoke too many questions. He'd either flatly refuse or want to know why, and I didn't have time for a lengthy conversation. I briefly considered calling Pam and having her forward along a message. But no, that would be cowardly, not to mention useless, as he'd just call me as soon as he found out from Pam anyway. I sighed and accepted the inevitable.

"Hello my once and future lover." I raised my eyebrows. That was certainly a step up from 'darling.'

"Hi Eric."

"Calling me so soon after dark? Do you miss me that much?"

"Yes, Eric, I am disconsolate without you," I deadpanned.

He laughed. "How do you like the new phone?"

"Oh, it's great. Thank you."

"I can't wait to see you later. I've been looking forward to it all day."

"Weren't you sleeping all day?"

"In my dreams, Sookie."

I laughed. I knew he was bullshitting me (vampires don't dream) but it was a charming thing to say nonetheless.

"Anyway, about tonight…" I trailed off, reluctant to broach the subject of my call. He was being so sweet, and I didn't want to disappoint him, but it couldn't be helped. "Listen, I'm really sorry to do this, but I have to cancel."

"What? Why?"

"I have an errand I need to run with Sam."

Silence.

"Eric? You still there?"

"What is this errand, and why must you accompany him?"

"I'm going to drive him around town in his dog form to all the places where the shifters have been shot. We think he might pick up a scent somewhere, give the police a clue."

"Out of the question. I forbid it."

Okay, forget what I said earlier about Eric being sweet. He was in full Sheriff jerk mode now. "Excuse me?"

"It's too dangerous, Sookie. The shooter's still on the loose, you'll have Sam's scent on you, and you'll be in the presence of a shifter. You're making yourself into a huge target. Sam can find someone else to chauffeur him around."

"Eric, I didn't call to ask for your permission. I'm doing this whether you approve or not. I just didn't want you showing up at my door and thinking I'd stood you up."

"Sookie, you will not go with Sam tonight."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Eric, I will. I have to get back to work. I'll talk to you later."

"Sookie—"

"Goodbye, Eric." I hung up the phone. 


	6. 6 Eric, Sookie

I couldn't believe she hung up on me. Stubborn, stupid woman. I called her back and waited. It rang once, twice, and then I heard her voice.

"Hi…"

"Sookie, listen and obey me—"

"… you've reached the voicemail of Sookie Stackhouse. Sorry I missed you, but…"

She must have turned off her phone. I ended the call in disgust.

Fine. If she would not answer her phone, I would go to her and make her listen to me. I threw on some clothes and was nearly out the door when my phone chirped. Sookie texted me?

No, it was from Pam.

'Andre is here.'

Fuck. Fuck!

I didn't have a choice. I couldn't ignore the Queen's emissary. In a foul mood, I took off and flew to Fangtasia.

As soon as I hung up, my phone started to ring. I didn't have to check the ID to know who it was. Sighing, I turned it off and headed back inside to check on my tables. There was no point in talking further to Eric; I'd made up my mind. I was going to help Sam tonight and he could just deal with it.

"Can I get a Tom Collins and a Seven and Seven, please?" I rested my tray against the bar as I called in my order to Charles Twining, Merlotte's latest bartender and Eric's temporary replacement for Sam during his convalescence.

"Coming right up, my dear." The pirate vampire smiled at me as he made up the drinks. "What's going on with the law enforcement convention in the back?"

Sheriff Bud Dearborn was sitting with several of his people at a couple tables that had been pushed together to accommodate their party, among them Andy Bellefleur, Alcee Beck, Kevin Pryor and Kenya Jones. A couple outsiders were with them as well. I figured they were higher-ups of some kind, FBI maybe.

"Let me see," I let my eyes flutter shut as I concentrated, filtering out all the other minds and focusing on the cops at the back of the bar. "They're deciding where to move the stakeout for the shooter to tonight. And there's been a lot of unexplained crime around Bon Temps recently: my house burning down, and the arsonist turning up dead, and the disappearances of my brother and Debbie Pelt a few weeks ago. Jason came back, but she's still missing. They're convinced there must be some connection somewhere." They were right about that. The connection was me. But I hoped to goodness none of them would discover that.

"You are a most unusual woman, Miss Stackhouse." Charles peered into my eyes intently with his one good one. "I can see why my employer is so attached to you."

I wanted to ask him which employer, Eric or Sam, but just then my brother and his new girlfriend walked into the bar.

"Hey Sook," Jason draped an arm around my shoulder and planted a kiss on my cheek. "Get Crystal and me a couple beers, will you?"

"Sure, just give me a second." Jason nodded and headed for a table in my section, Crystal wrapped up under his arm.

I turned back to Charles. He was still staring at me thoughtfully. I wondered what he was thinking. And then suddenly, I knew.

«Such a pity. What a waste, a talent like hers. She smells different tonight. His scent is all over her. Then it's true. My master will be pleased.»

I kept my face entirely still. Years of reading minds had taught me to develop an excellent poker face, but on the inside, I was churning with fear. It had been months since I'd last dipped into a vampire brain, and it didn't feel any better this time around than it had then. Vampire brains were frightening, all twisted and snarly and scary. But it was the threat of what they would do to me if they ever found out that really terrified me.

"Sookie? Your drinks are ready." Charles set the mixed drinks down on my tray along with Jason and Crystal's beers and gave me an odd look. I smiled brightly at him, and turned around quickly to serve my tables. I couldn't get away from him fast enough.

"Calvin's been asking after you," Crystal smiled at me as I served her and Jason. "He's real appreciative of the visit you paid him, and he hopes you'll come see him when he gets out of the hospital tomorrow."

"Tell him I'll be happy to come, and thank you for the gardenia bush." I smiled back at her. To be honest, I didn't much care for Crystal Norris, but she made Jason so happy, I thought I'd give her a chance. Plus, I just learned something even Jason didn't know yet. Crystal's period was late, and she was thinking she might be carrying his baby. She wasn't the first girl Jason dated who'd thought that, and she probably wouldn't be the last.

Okay, that was awfully cynical of me, but when your brother's the town Lothario, pregnancy scares lose their effect after a while. I couldn't help but hope that Crystal was wrong, not just because I was wary of her personally, but because I didn't want any niece or nephew of mine growing up in Hotshot, a town so isolated and its inhabitants so inbred. What kind of future would Jason's child have there?

The rest of my shift passed uneventfully enough. I avoided Charles as much as possible. I was sure he'd picked up on something strange from our conversation earlier, and I didn't want to give him another chance to grill me. It was a relief when people started to go home and Bill showed up to drive Charles back to his place.

I smiled a greeting at Bill and he returned it, but then his nostrils flared and he looked as though he wanted to say something to me. Before he got the chance, Charles took him by the arm and ushered him out the door.

Well that was weird.

But I didn't have much time to ponder what it meant, before Sam came out to help me close down the bar. Afterwards, we headed out to the parking lot together, and he ducked behind some bushes and shifted.

My old friend, Dean, trotted out a moment later, only he wasn't the familiar collie who spent the occasional full moon running through my woods or napping on my porch, but a bloodhound. That made sense. If Sam was to sniff out the faint odor of bitten shifter, he needed the most powerful nose in the animal kingdom.

Dean trotted out to the woods behind the bar, and I followed him. In his shifted state, Sam's leg hardly seemed to bother him at all, which was a relief. I wasn't looking forward to carrying an injured dog around all night.

The bloodhound thoroughly went over the area where the shooter had to have been when he shot Sam, based on the angle of the bullet's path and the available cover. After a while, he came back out of the woods and walked past me towards my car. His tail was down. "Anything? Did you smell bitten shifter at all?"

Dean whimpered. I took that as a no. Hmm, maybe our theory was off, then.

I unlocked my car and held open the passenger side door for Dean. He hopped right in, and a moment later we were headed for downtown Bon Temps. 


	7. 7 Eric, Sookie

I was still seething when I landed by the back door of my club, but I forced myself to calm down. I couldn't afford to lose control in front of Andre. Pam met me in the hallway as I made my way inside.

"I've put them both in your office."

"Both? Your text said Andre."

"Yes, but he's got a woman with him. Another vampire."

"Who is she?"

"I don't know. I've never met her before."

"Do you have any idea what they want?"

"No, they won't talk to me. They said they would only deal with you."

"Return to the bar. I'll call you if I need you." Pam left for her post as I entered my office, shutting the door behind me. Andre and a vampire I hadn't seen in years were seated on the leather couch in the corner. They rose as I came to them.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting long," I said neutrally.

"Eric," Andre nodded at me. "May I introduce my associate, Miss Jennifer Cater."

"Oh, we've met." Jennifer stepped forward. "Eric and I are old friends."

That was an exaggeration. At our last encounter, Jennifer had demanded, point-blank, that I fuck her. I'd refused in less than charitable terms. I'd been avoiding her ever since.

"Jennifer, it's been a while."

"At least twenty years. Much too long." She grinned icily at me.

I motioned to the two guest chairs in front of my desk, and took my own, waiting for them to get settled. "What can I do for you both?"

"What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room," Andre began. "The engagement is still in its early stages, and only Sheriffs are authorized to know about it. You may not inform your Lieutenant."

"Engagement?"

"Yes," Jennifer cut in. "My King, Peter Threadgill, has made an offer of marriage to your Queen, Sophie-Anne Leclerq."

Andre continued, "As part of the negotiations, both parties have requested an audit of all the Areas in each Kingdom. We are beginning with the Queen's most profitable Area, outside of New Orleans, of course. Congratulations, that would be you." Andre gave me a condescending smile. "I will be representing Sophie-Anne's interests, while Jennifer will be looking after Peter's."

Oh, joy. An audit. Just exactly what I fucking needed tonight.

"My accountant would really be the best person suited to answer your questions. If you had informed me of your visit, I would have had him here ready to assist you."

Jennifer gave me a chilly smile. "We find it's best to drop by unannounced. Sheriffs have been known to cook their books if given prior notice of an audit. Not that we would ever suspect you of doing that, Eric."

I gritted my teeth, but managed to keep my smile in place.

"If you would prefer to have your human accountant here before we begin, Jennifer and I will wait."

"Thank you, Andre." I summoned my progeny through our bond. «Pam.»

She entered a second later.

"Bring me Bruce."

"Right away, Sheriff." She dashed out of the room.

I turned to the two thorns in my side. "Pam should have him here within a few minutes. Can I offer you anything while you wait?"

"Who do you have on tap?" Jennifer said. "I thought I saw some pretty young things at the bar."

"Unfortunately Louisiana state law prohibits vampires from feeding on premises. May I offer you a TrueBlood instead?"

Jennifer made a face. "No thanks, I'll pass." Andre shook his head.

"You said my Area was the second most profitable in Louisiana. What about Baton Rouge? Is Area Four doing poorly?"

Andre shrugged. "Salome reported losses at the Seven Veils last quarter. The Queen is not concerned, for the moment. We expect the casino to rebound now that we've entered the high season."

That surprised me. When I spoke to Salome last night, she told me the casino was going gangbusters. I wondered why she'd lie about that.

"So when will the wedding take place? During the next summit?"

"No," Andre said. "If no discrepancies are found during our audit, the ceremony will be held privately within the next few weeks. Neither Sophie-Anne nor Peter wish to make a big production out of this."

That was also unusual. Vampire royalty are not known for their lack of ostentation.

There was a knock at the door. "Enter."

Pam came in, pushing a disheveled Bruce in front of her. "Will there be anything else, Sheriff?"

"No, thank you, Pam." She left, closing the door behind her. Bruce jumped at the sound.

"Wh— what is this about?" He stuttered.

"Bruce. This is Miss Cater and Mr. Paul. They will ask you a few questions about my businesses. Tell them anything they want to know." I got up from my desk and made to leave.

"Where are you going?" Andre asked.

I turned around, my hand on the doorknob. "Bruce is very familiar with all my finances. You won't be needing me."

"I'm afraid we will, Eric. Your presence is required during the entire duration of the audit." Andre's voice brokered no argument.

I cursed inwardly. I didn't have time for this bullshit. I sat back at my desk and gestured for Bruce to begin.

Four hours later, Jennifer and Andre had learned everything anyone could possibly want to know about my business interests. I glanced impatiently at the clock. Sookie said her shift at Merlotte's would end by midnight. I assumed she and the shifter would start their search immediately after work, and it would take me the better part of an hour to fly down there. If I left now, I might still get there in time to stop her. I had to get out of this fucking meeting, and soon.

"Is there some place you need to be, Eric?"

"No, of course not, Andre. My time is entirely at your disposal."

"Good. Then you may dismiss your accountant. We're finished with him." I nodded at Bruce, and he left in a hurry.

"Now that we've covered Area Five's business assets, it's time to move on to personnel," Andre transitioned smoothly.

Personnel? "Well, I'm sure you're aware of the full complement of vampires in my Area…" I trailed off. I couldn't understand what Andre was getting at. He was obviously fishing for something, but I didn't know what.

"No, no. I am not interested in your vampires."

I just waited.

"Tell me, what do you know of a human woman by the name of Sookie Stackhouse?"

I kept my face perfectly still, betraying no reaction. "She's worked for me once or twice," I said noncommittally.

"In her telepathic capacity?"

"Yes."

Andre smiled, flashing a little fang. He turned to Jennifer. "There. I told you."

"No shit," she said slowly. "An actual telepath, living in your Kingdom? How incredibly fortunate you are."

"Perhaps now you see Sophie-Anne has more to offer beyond her financial prosperity."

"I will inform Peter of this. I am sure he will agree to your demands."

I didn't like the sound of that. Whatever game Andre was playing, Sookie was obviously a pawn. I wanted to know more, but right now I had to get to her.

They both rose from their chairs and I escorted them to the door. "I'll join you in a minute, Jennifer. I'd like to have a word with Eric." Andre closed the door and faced me.

"We've had reports you've gone missing from your Area in the last few weeks."

"I was incapacitated for a few nights, yes."

"You are aware that the Queen is displeased when one of her Sheriffs suddenly goes off the reservation."

"I apologize, Andre. It was not my doing. I was cursed by a witch."

Andre raised an eyebrow. "A witch? Now that's amusing."

"I can assure you it was not amusing at the time." I said dryly.

"Yes, well, I can understand that." Andre smirked. "How embarrassing for you."

I resisted the urge to punch him in the face. "I evened the score. The witch responsible, along with her entire coven, is dead."

Andre nodded his approval. "Well, I need to get back to New Orleans and inform Sophie-Anne of these proceedings. You've done good work, Eric. You've strengthened our bargaining position. We won't forget this."

I followed him out of my office and waited only to make sure they both had left before taking off for Bon Temps.

I arrived at Merlotte's forty-five minutes later. It was dark. Her car wasn't in the parking lot. I must have just missed her. Fuck.

Sometimes it was easier to talk to Sam as a dog than as a human. Maybe it was because he couldn't answer back. Regardless, during our little drive into town, I felt like I had to get a few things off my chest, and now was as good a time as any.

"Sam?"

Dean looked up at me. I usually called him 'Dean' when he was in his dog form, so he must have known something was up when I used his real name.

"Look, I think we need to get a few things straight between us." I hurried on before I lost my courage. "That kiss a couple nights ago—it was lovely. I really did enjoy it. And if Bill hadn't interrupted us… well, I probably would have gone to bed with you that night."

Okay, that was a really strange thing to say to a dog, but I pushed that thought out of my mind as soon as it came to me. Focus, Sookie!

"But, I think we both know that would have been a mistake. I love you, Sam, you're my best friend and you're the greatest boss I've ever had. But romantically, I just don't see how things would work out between us. I won't date someone I work for, that's just asking for trouble, and I'm really happy with our friendship as it is. I love working for you. Working at Merlotte's is the best job I've ever had, and if I started seeing you I'd have to quit."

Dean barked at me.

"Yeah, I know you've told me I'd have a job with you no matter what, and it's not like I think you'd fire me if things didn't work out, but I don't think I could work for you if that happened. It would be too awkward, seeing you every day, and I'd much rather we keep things the way they are now. It's better. For both of us."

I risked a glance at Dean, but he was looking out the window.

I took a deep breath. "And, I think you have the right to know… You asked me earlier if anything had gone on between me and Eric last night."

Dean started to growl.

"Nothing happened. I swear." I looked at Dean, but he was still facing away from me. "But we did make plans to see each other again, and if I weren't here with you now… well, I'd be with him, and I honestly don't know what would have happened."

We arrived at Magnolia Street. I pulled into the little alleyway across from the Sonic where Heather Kinman had been killed.

"And that's it. That's everything. I just want to be honest with you, Sam. I don't want to lead you on. I've been keeping so many secrets lately, and I've recently learned it's so much better when you let things out in the open. When you address them, instead of burying them. It's better to talk things through, even if it hurts. I am sorry if I hurt you just now. But it's better that you know."

I parked behind what used to be Patsy's Cleaners, one of a couple of abandoned buildings right next to the old Louisiana Feed and Seed. I got out of the car and walked around to the other side to let Dean out. As soon as his paws hit the ground, he went to work, nose down and tail up. He was closed off to me; he'd retreated into his animal form. I guess he didn't want to deal with what I'd just said, and that was fine. He would need time to process it all, just like I had last night.

Dean got in a solid five minutes of sniffing time before we were interrupted. I'd followed a couple steps behind him as he methodically worked the little alleyway, my mind still preoccupied with my monologue in the car, and my back was to the bright lights of the Sonic parking lot, so I didn't see or hear Andy Bellefleur coming.

"Sookie, what the hell are you doing here?"

I jumped. "Jesus, Andy, you scared the daylights out of me!"

"Why are you here? And what's with the dog?"

I racked my brain for a plausible explanation, but I couldn't come up with a better one than the truth. Well, an edited version of the truth. "I thought maybe a trained dog could pick up on the scent of the killer. Maybe give y'all a clue."

"Oh, so you're working for the parish, now? Didn't see your name on the payroll."

I shot him an exasperated look. "No, Andy. It's just that a friend of mine knew where I could get a bloodhound, and I thought, why not? The sooner this shooter's behind bars, the safer we'll all be. I just wanted to do my part." I gave him my most innocent smile and hoped he bought it.

Andy looked doubtful, but if he had his suspicions, he didn't voice them. "Looks like your dog's picked up on something."

I turned back to Dean. Sure enough, he was pawing at the ground, his tail wagging excitedly. And then his ears pricked up, and he turned towards the shadows, growling lowly.

A figure stepped out into the alley, still partially hidden in the darkness, but the silhouette of the rifle held at the ready was unmistakable. Instinctively, Andy reached for his firearm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Bellefleur." The cool, sarcastic voice of Sweetie Des Arts rang out. "I've got my sights trained on you, and I'll shoot you before you can get it out of your holster."

Andy stilled his hand. "Sweetie? From the bar? Is that you?"

"Sure is, Andy. Now let's see those hands! Both of you, get 'em up."

Andy and I both complied, and Dean came to me, pressing himself against my legs. Sweetie walked over to Andy, removed his gun, and then retreated back into the shadows.

"So, this whole time, it was you?" Andy spluttered. Man, he was really slow on the uptake. "But why?"

"They were shifters, all of them. Scum of the earth, just like Sookie here."

"Sweetie," I began gently. "I'm not a shifter."

"What the hell's a shifter?" Andy demanded.

Sweetie ignored him. "You sure smell like one, girl."

"Some of my friends are shifters, and you're picking up on that. But I'm just a regular old human. What about you? You must be shifter yourself to pick up the scent. Why are you hunting your own kind?"

She stiffened and swung the rifle onto me. Uh-oh. "They are not my kind! One of the bastards bit me as I lay bleeding after a car wreck. My parents were disgusted, my boyfriend left me, I had to leave my job as a stripper. Shifters ruined my life!"

"Will someone please tell me what in the hell is a shifter?" Andy Bellefleur must have had no self-preservation instinct whatsoever. Sweetie shifted her focus back on Andy, aiming at him instead of me. I started breathing again.

"A shifter is a human who can take the form of an animal. Heather Kinman turned into a fox. Calvin Norris turned into a panther. I don't know what Sookie turns into, but it must be just as bad. Maybe that dog of hers is a shifter, too. Someone you know."

She aimed at Dean. "Maybe I should shoot it now, just to be sure."

In a panic, I started talking again. "Sweetie, please don't shoot my dog. And please don't shoot me either. Like I told you, I'm not a shifter."

"Maybe you are, maybe you ain't. But you got their smell on you." She straightened, as if coming to a decision. "Guilty by association."

Sweetie Des Arts leveled her rifle at me, and this time I knew she was going to shoot. She was broadcasting that so clearly, I could read her tangled shifter brain as easily as any human's. I stood stock still.

In that moment, I knew I could die. The realization chilled me to the bone. But then just as suddenly, I felt a rush of pleasure, and of peace. I couldn't understand it. Was I happy I was going to die?

Then a blur swept in from Sweetie's side, and she abruptly dropped her rifle, her arms and legs dangling akimbo. It was Eric. He had her by the throat, and judging from the way her head lolled forward, he'd snapped her neck.

Eric launched himself into the sky, still holding Sweetie's now very dead body, and flew to the side of one of the abandoned buildings, level with the roof. Then he dropped her. Her body hit the asphalt with a sickening splat.

We all stood there, watching in shocked silence, no one saying a word. Eric landed by Sweetie's body, retrieving the pistol lying on the ground. He blurred in front of Andy Bellefleur and gave it to him. Andy accepted it in a daze. "Thanks," he muttered. As soon as Eric caught his eyes, he wasted no time glamouring him.

"You saw her on the rooftop, she was aiming for you. You confronted her, she stumbled, lost her balance and fell." Andy stared wide-eyed at Eric, slowly repeating everything he said. "You didn't see me, or Sookie or anyone else here. This alley was deserted, except for Sweetie and you." Andy nodded. "Now get in your car, wait five minutes, and then call it in." Andy trotted off, presumably in the direction of his patrol vehicle.

"Sam, I trust you will keep this secret." The bloodhound nodded, which was one of the oddest things I'd ever seen. "What about the Were, is he trustworthy?"

Were? I hadn't even noticed the presence of another shifter. I turned to look further down the alleyway, where a wolf lay shimmering on the ground. A few seconds later, Dawson climbed to his feet, having resumed his human form. "You don't have to glamour me, I won't talk."

"You'd better not."

"I'm not an idiot. I know who you are and what you're capable of."

Eric stared hard at Dawson before nodding, apparently satisfied.

"Sookie, you'll come with me."

Immediately Dean jumped between me and Eric, snarling at him with hackles raised. Eric dropped fang and snarled right back.

Oh shit. This was so not good. Sam had already gotten hurt in a fight with a vampire because of me; I was not about to let him do it again.

"Eric! Sam! Stop this right now!" I knew full well it would be suicide for Sam to attack Eric, especially as a damn bloodhound.

I lunged for Dean and grabbed him round the neck, trying to haul him back to me and away from the vampire who was rapidly losing his temper. Dean bit down on my arm, hard.

"Ow!" I let go of him and staggered back in pain. "Dammit, Sam Merlotte, what the hell did you do that for?"

At the sound of his name, Dean spun around to look at me. If it was possible for a dog to look contrite, he did.

Eric abandoned his fight with Sam and came to me at once. "Fucking shifter." He pricked his index finger with one of his fangs and took my bleeding forearm in his grasp, rubbing his blood into the bite. He licked me clean of my own blood as his worked its magic on me, healing me quickly.

"Sookie, come with me now."

"I can't. I have to drive Sam home."

"What do you care? He just bit you!"

"He didn't mean to! It was an accident."

Dean looked miserable, his head lowered and his tail tucked between his legs. I walked over to him, crouching down to pat him on the head. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean it." He licked my hand and I smiled at him. I stood up again.

"The Were will drive Sam home." Eric didn't so much as glance in Dawson's direction, but immediately Calvin's bodyguard came up to me, holding out his hand for my keys. I reached in my pocket and gave them to him. "Drop her car off at her apartment once you're done. Sam will give you the address."

Dawson left the alley, headed in the direction of my car. Dean hesitated, looking at me to see if I was okay with this. I nodded at him and he took off after Dawson.

And then Eric and I were alone together. Well, sort of alone. Sweetie's corpse still lay in a bloody heap by the old Feed and Seed. I looked away. That was one mental image I could have done without.

Eric stepped into me and grabbed me firmly round my waist. "Hold on."

I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck, and the next thing I knew I was flying. I tried not to think of Sweetie Des Arts' body hitting the ground; every time my thoughts strayed in that direction, I gripped Eric's neck more tightly. He didn't seem to mind.

We didn't speak on the way over to my apartment, but I could tell he was royally pissed.

Flying was like nothing I'd ever experienced before, and despite my growing concern over Eric's stoic silence, I couldn't help feeling exhilarated. The night air was cool and refreshing as it swept across my skin, blowing my hair back behind me. After we'd gained cruising altitude, Eric turned us horizontally, in a kind of Superman pose. Naturally, this placed me underneath him. I had to wrap my legs around his waist to keep them from dropping, and Eric shifted slightly, until his body was pressed fully against mine. I tried not to think about how similar this position was to sex, and it disturbed me that for the second time in as many nights, I was thinking about sex with Eric after seeing a woman either killed or nearly killed right in front of me. This was significant. I had to remember this.

We landed softly in front of my door. I unwrapped myself from Eric's body, but his hands didn't stray from my waist. His eyes were fiercely blue as they glared down at me, and I shuddered, though whether from fear or longing, I wasn't sure.

"You disobeyed me."

With an effort, I forced some steel into my backbone and looked him straight in the eyes. I took orders from no one. "I'm not one of your underlings. You don't tell me what to do."

"You went with the shifter after I warned you how dangerous it was."

"Sam's my friend. I couldn't let him go by himself."

"You could have been killed tonight."

"You're right, I could have," I admitted. "Thank you for saving my life."

"What if I hadn't found you in time? What if she had shot you?" His hands tightened painfully around my waist.

"Eric, please, you're hurting me." He loosened his grip just barely.

"You'd be dead, Sookie. You'd be fucking dead."

"Alright, Eric, I get it. You've made your point."

"I don't think I have." He kissed me.

It was fiery and passionate. His tongue forced its way into my mouth as he bent me over, one hand splayed across my upper back to support me. His tongue rasped furiously against mine as he tasted me over and over. He was merciless and he was amazing. 


	8. 8 Eric, Sookie, Eric

I kissed her long and hard, my tongue thrusting against hers, needing to taste every surface of her mouth, to claim her as my own. She was stunned, but it wasn't long before she responded, her tongue slipping into my mouth where I sucked on it hungrily. Only when I felt her start to gasp did I pull away, watching her silently as she caught her breath.

"Eric—"

I kissed her again. If she had breath to speak, she had breath to kiss.

I was gentler this time. My hands came up to cradle her face and stroke her cheek. I tried to tell her all the things I couldn't bring myself to say, not yet anyway, with this kiss. I was so terrified tonight. She meant so much to me. I don't know what I would have done, had that shifter bitch killed her. Why did she insist on putting herself in danger? Every time I turned my back, someone was shooting at her or burning her house down or trying to rape her or kill her in a dozen different ways.

Sometimes I wished I didn't feel the way I did about this woman. Sometimes I wished I'd never met her. My life used to be simple. Well, as simple as things get for a vampire.

But now I felt things for a mortal woman. I didn't like feeling things. I'd spent centuries purging myself of all emotion. 'Emotion is weakness,' Ocella had taught me. Painfully.

And then one night, a woman walked into my bar, and ruined me.

I let her breathe.

She leaned against my chest, her fists clenched in the fabric of my t-shirt. I wrapped her up tightly against me. We didn't speak. I just held her, and she let me hold her.

She pulled away and smiled up at me. She turned to the front door. "Shit." She smacked her forehead with the heel of her hand, and laughed a little.

"What is it?"

She turned back to me. "I gave my keys to Dawson. All of them. I can't get in."

"Do you want me to break the lock?"

She considered it. "No. Then Sam would have to replace it."

"Sookie, I'll pay for it, it's no problem—"

"No, Eric. You've done enough for me already. I'll just sit here and wait for Dawson. But you don't have to be stuck out here with me. You can fly home to Shreveport if you like—"

"No. I'm not leaving you."

She smiled up at me gratefully. I was a little surprised; I half-expected her to fight me on this. She usually did.

She walked over to the porch stairs and sat down on the top step. I followed her and sat down beside her. A little hesitantly, I reached over to put my arm around her, but she accepted my touch, tucking herself up against me.

I was so ready to screw his brains out. After that passionate kiss, and the tender one that followed it, I'd forgotten all the reasons why I couldn't do that, why it would be disastrous for us to be together, if only for one night. How could it be a bad thing, when just being with him felt this good?

I pulled away just long enough to get the door open before realizing, like an idiot, I'd given all my keys to Dawson. Was this some cruel joke the universe was playing on me? Was I destined to spend every night with Eric Northman, wanting him so badly but never actually having him because of one stupid circumstance after another? I laughed out of sheer frustration.

I nearly took Eric up on his offer to break the lock. But then I thought of all the trouble that would cause Sam. He'd have to hire a locksmith to repair it, get new keys made, not to mention the expense. Of course Eric offered to pay for everything, but I didn't want him spending any more money on me. I took it as a sign, I guess. Maybe we weren't ready. Maybe we still had a few things we needed to say to each other first.

Though right now, I was sick to death of talking. There were other things I wanted to do with Eric, other skills I knew he had that I desperately wanted to avail myself of, and if we had been at my house, in the isolation of my woods, I would have had him right there on the front porch, keys or no keys.

But I lived in town now. I was surrounded by neighbors, many of whom were busybodies. I couldn't have wild sex outdoors without half of Bon Temps hearing it and the other half hearing about it the next day.

I'd told him he could leave, that he didn't have to waste his time waiting for Dawson with me, but he wouldn't hear of it. He wanted to stay with me. That made me so happy, I could kiss him all over again. But then I'd want more with him and that just wasn't possible right now.

I sighed and sunk down on the porch steps. He joined me. When he put his arm around me, it felt so good, it was all I could do not to rub my cheek against his chest. I settled for cuddling a little closer.

I'd learned my lesson from last night. I was not going to fuck this up by asking another question. I kept my mouth shut and just enjoyed the feel of her next to me.

She broke the silence this time. "I'm sorry I worried you."

I almost laughed. "You always worry me, Sookie. It's nothing new." I kissed the top of her head.

Then she said something very odd. "Does worrying about me endanger you, Eric?"

"What?"

"Does it make you look weak in front of other vampires?"

"Where would you get an idea like that?"

"I spoke to Tara today, and she told me some things about Baton Rouge, what they've been saying about us down there."

"What have they been saying?"

"That I tamed you," she laughed. "That I had you wrapped around my little finger. As if I could ever do that."

Gods, if she only knew.

"It's ridiculous, I know. But it worried me."

"Why?"

"Well they're calling you the 'tame Viking,' Eric! What if they take all their jokes a little too far, and somebody gets the wrong idea? Decides to make a play for your Area?"

I was touched she even thought to worry about my position. I never knew she cared. "Would that bother you, Sookie, if I lost my Area?"

She pulled back a little to look at me incredulously. "Of course that would bother me! Who knows what psychopath would replace you? We'd all be in danger."

"So you don't think I'm a psychopath. That's progress."

She smiled. "No, I don't think you're a psychopath. I think you're a good Sheriff. You're fair and you do your best by your people. Your vampires are loyal to you and it's not out of fear, but out of respect, I can see that."

I wanted her so badly. Where the fuck was that Were? If he didn't get here soon, I'd rip the front door off its hinges, the shifter be damned.

I settled for kissing her instead.

This time, Sookie opened to me with no hesitation. She met my every stroke with one of her own. We caressed each other on the inside as our hands explored each other on the outside. Sookie's fingers started to toy with the zipper on my jeans. I pulled away before I lost all control.

"What was that for?"

"What?" I said, dazed.

She smiled at me. "Why'd you kiss me?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"Generally, yes, people kiss each other for a reason."

"Because I think you're wonderful. Because you appreciate what I do. Because you look so beautiful under the moonlight, and it's all I can do to stop myself from taking you right here, right now. Are those enough reasons?"

"Yeah, those are some pretty good ones," she said breathlessly.

I laughed, and she joined in. And just like that, the tension broke between us, and we were back to being comfortable again. Well, part of me was decidedly uncomfortable, but I chose to ignore it as best I could.

"So are you in danger, Eric? Does being with me put you at risk?"

"No, Sookie. Idle gossip doesn't bother me. Let them talk, I don't give a damn. They know me too well to cross me, in business or politics. What I do in my leisure time is none of their concern."

"So your reputation is secure?"

I smiled down at her. "My reputation is secure."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. If anything happened to you…"

"What, Sookie?"

"Well, we'd all be at risk. Pam, Bill, everyone who works for you."

"And yourself."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Why do you always rank yourself last?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just now, your first thoughts were for Pam and Bill and other vampires you barely know. You don't even think how you'd be in danger."

"I know I'd be in danger. I know you protect me."

"You know I care about you."

"Yes," she whispered.

"Then why do you risk your life so often, and so recklessly?"

"I'm not reckless. I do what's necessary."

"Tonight was not necessary."

"Sure it was. We had to bring the shooter to justice." She frowned. "Well, we didn't exactly bring Sweetie to justice, but at least she can't hurt anyone anymore. We'll all be safer now."

"You will be safer now. That's all that matters to me."

She blushed and didn't say anything.

"Promise me you'll never do something like this again."

"I can't do that, Eric."

"Why not?"

"If one of my friends needs me, I have to help them. I can't sit idly by."

"Fine," I growled. "Then you will call me first. And you will wait for me. And you will leave your damn phone on."

She bit her lip.

"Sookie?"

"Well what if it's during the day?"

"We've been over this. You call Bobby and he'll send someone to protect you until I can get there."

"Bobby," she grumbled. I took in her sour expression.

"You don't like Bobby?"

"He doesn't like me."

"What?" My temper flared. "He told you this?"

"No, he didn't have to." She tapped her forehead. "Mind reader, remember? Plus, his attitude made it perfectly clear." She rolled her eyes.

"I'll have a talk with Bobby."

"Oh, no, Eric, please don't do that," she pleaded. "And anyway, some of his thoughts were valid, even though they were put in an unflattering way."

"Such as?"

"That it wasn't his place to be waiting on me when he should be handling your business concerns. That's perfectly true."

"It's his place to do as I tell him. And he will respect you. I will not tolerate anything less."

I looked at her determinedly. She sighed and let the subject drop. We went back to cuddling for a while when a thought came to me.

"You know, Sookie, all this gossip might actually be a good thing."

She cocked her head to the side, "How do you figure?"

"It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if other vampires thought of you as mine."

"Why?"

"Well right now, you are without protection. When you were Bill's, no one could touch you. When I requested your services, I had to negotiate with him as well as with you. Other vampires wouldn't pay you the courtesy of asking you first; only the threat of reprisal would make them hesitate before snatching you up."

She was alarmed. "Is some vampire just gonna grab me?"

"Not if I have any say in it. I'm Sheriff of this Area, and my reputation precedes me. No one who knows me and has heard these rumors would dare touch you. But…" I trailed off, thinking of my interminable meeting earlier tonight. "There are those who rank above me. If they wanted to take you, there would be little I could do politically to prevent it. However if I had a formal claim on you, it would give me more options."

Sookie shuddered. I held her tighter. "I don't want you to worry, and I would have much rather left you in ignorance of this, but you're safer knowing what threats are out there."

She nodded. "So you're saying you want to declare me yours."

"With your permission, yes. And it would be best if you said it yourself, too, just around other vampires. I won't make any demands on you, we can remain just as we are now. But other vampires would have to respect my claim on you, and you'd be safer."

"Okay. I can see the sense in what you're saying. I agree to be yours, if in name only." Then a mischievous grin spread over her features. "But what if I want you to make demands on me?"

I swallowed. "Keep talking like that, and you'll get yourself in trouble."

"Maybe that's exactly what I'm after."

"Sookie," I began, but I was interrupted by her car pulling into the driveway.

Dawson hopped out, clearly surprised to see us there waiting for him. Thankfully, he was fully clothed. I wasn't thrilled by the prospect of a nude man parading himself in front of Sookie who wasn't me.

"Sookie, you waited for me? I'm sorry, I thought you'd be in bed by now." I thought so, too.

"I didn't have a choice," she shrugged. "I gave you all my keys instead of just my car keys. I wasn't thinking."

"What took you so long?" I growled.

Dawson flicked his eyes over to me. "I spent some time at Sam's helping him get settled, and then I drove back to where I shifted to pick up my clothes and hitch up my bike." He gestured to the back of Sookie's car, where his motorcycle trailed behind. "If I'd known y'all were locked out, I would have gotten here sooner."

"Don't worry about it, Dawson, it's no big deal." Sookie stood and smiled at him. "Thanks for dropping off my car."

He handed her the keys. "Sure thing. Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way." He unhitched his motorcycle and left soon after.

I followed Sookie to her front door. She unlocked it, and gave me a coy look over her shoulder.

"So, Mr. Northman, would you like to come in?"

I barely waited for Sookie to get the door open before I grabbed her and rushed for the nearest horizontal surface.

Sookie laughed as I threw her on the couch and sprawled on top of her. I whipped off my shirt and hers quickly followed. I buried my face in her chest and breathed in deep.

My phone rang. I ignored it.

I planted kiss after kiss on her cleavage, my tongue dipping below the fabric of her bra. Sookie's heart sped up, and her breasts rose and fell as her breathing grew faster and more ragged.

My fucking phone rang again.

Sookie groaned in frustration. "Just answer it."

I growled and reached into my back pocket.

"Pam."

"Eric! Where the fuck are you? You just took off and didn't tell me anything!"

"I'm at Sookie's. I'm kind of busy here." Sookie giggled and I smiled at her.

"Oh. Oh! Really? Finally?"

"Was there anything you needed?"

"Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow night. Are you spending the day there?"

I looked around her apartment doubtfully. "No, she doesn't have a light-tight space for me."

"Well if you plan on heading back to Shreveport you'd better leave now." I glanced at my watch and cursed. She was right. Dawn was less than an hour away.

"Thanks for the warning. I'll tell you what I can tomorrow." I hung up. "Sookie, I have to go."

"What? No!"

"I know, I really don't want to either, believe me. But you don't have a place for me here. I have to go home."

She sighed. "When will I see you again?"

"Tomorrow night, if I can get out of Fangtasia early enough."

"Okay. You'll call me?"

"As soon as I rise, and every moment I can spare after that." I kissed her again, before dragging myself off of her and grabbing my shirt off the floor. I tossed her hers as I pulled mine on.

Sookie walked me to the door. "I'll miss you."

I pulled her into me and gave her one last, long, lingering kiss goodbye, reveling in her warmth one more time. Then I left, cursing the sun as it forced me from her. 


	9. 9 Sookie

I dithered by the door, my eyes straining to follow Eric's retreating form as he disappeared into the already lightening sky. He definitely stayed too long. I was a little worried he wouldn't make it back in time.

When I couldn't see him anymore, I closed my front door and slumped against it. What had gotten into me? I'd never outright propositioned someone before, but I just did that with Eric. Twice.

It was kind of fun. I didn't seriously think he'd reject me, so I felt perfectly safe being a little bolder in my flirting. I could tell I shocked the hell out of him, and that just made it even more entertaining. I loved giving him a taste of his own medicine for once. He always took such pleasure in flustering me, scandalizing me, hitting on me blatantly. Until tonight, I didn't realize I could have the same effect on him.

But, now I was paying for it. I was more turned on than I'd been in weeks, and there was no one to help me out but myself. I sighed and hauled myself up to get ready for bed. I'd break with routine and shower tonight. And it would be cold.

A loud, persistent knocking woke me the next morning. Well, afternoon, my alarm clock informed me. I dragged myself out of bed, wrapped my robe around me and went to answer it. Alcide Herveaux stood outside, looking swarthy and brooding and gorgeous as always.

"Sookie? Did I wake you?"

I glared at him. Wasn't that obvious? Alcide wasn't exactly my favorite person right now, but I forced myself to be civil. "Yeah, but it's alright. It's time I got up anyway. Come on in to the kitchen and I'll get us both some coffee."

I set the coffee maker to brewing a fresh pot and gathered a couple mugs, the cream and sugar and set them on the table.

"I stopped by earlier this morning, but you didn't answer. I thought you'd be up by now," he murmured apologetically as he took a seat at the little table. His large frame dwarfed the tiny kitchen chair, making it look like dollhouse furniture.

"I didn't get to bed until late last night. I must have slept right through it. Sorry about that." I poured out the coffee and sat down across from him. "So, what's up?"

"I'm here on pack business." He handed me a cream-colored envelope. "You've been summoned to the contest for packmaster."

I opened the invitation warily. "And what does that entail, exactly? What do I have to do?" I was determined to go into any future Were political events with my eyes wide open. Alcide had been less than forthcoming at Colonel Flood's funeral and I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

"You don't have to do anything. Just watch the contest and congratulate the winner, whoever it might be."

I eyed him suspiciously. "That's it? Just show up and give the winner a pat on the back?"

"Well," Alcide began. I shook my head at him. I knew it. "I would appreciate it if you could peek into Furnan's head. I suspect he's not on the up-and-up."

"You think he might try to cheat?"

"You saw how he was at the funeral. Colonel Flood wasn't even cold in his grave and he was already stumping for packmaster."

He was right about that. I remembered how distasteful Patrick Furnan's eulogy had been. And judging from the impressions I got from the Were brains around me, I wasn't the only one put off by his blatant politicking.

Then there was that whole scandal surrounding Herveaux's secretary and the pilfered personal papers. I suspected Furnan was behind that, too, though Jackson's inept handling of the affair didn't speak well of his potential as packmaster. Neither did his gambling debts, which Alcide had to work off by doing favors for Eric… and that was how I met him in the first place.

When it came down to it, I didn't think there was anything Alcide wouldn't do for his father. That was admirable, but insofar as it got me in way over my head in matters I didn't fully understand or, frankly, care about, I had little sympathy for Jackson Herveaux's thwarted political ambitions.

"The man's ruthless," he continued. "I know you said you didn't pick up on anything shady when you saw him last, but he might try something tomorrow."

I sighed, laying the invitation down beside my mug. "Alcide, I won't promise you anything. I really don't want to get caught up any further in your pack's drama." His face hardened. "But, I'll do my part. I know I'm a 'friend of the pack' and I'm expected to go, so I will."

I could tell my lack of enthusiasm didn't exactly please him, but he also knew he was lucky I was willing to attend at all considering how we'd left things the last time we saw each other. He reached across the table and took my hand, bringing it to his lips. He planted a tender kiss on the back of it, before returning both our hands to the table. He didn't let go.

I was so shocked it took me a second to react. "Uh, Alcide? What the hell was that?"

He smiled at me lazily. "That was a ceremonial gesture of my people. It's how you're supposed to say farewell to a friend of the pack."

"Oh." The intimacy of his kiss didn't seem very ceremonial to me, but I didn't feel safe bringing that up. "So you're leaving now?"

"No, I'd like to stay a while longer, if that's alright?" He looked at me inquiringly, and I shrugged to let him know that was fine with me. "The kiss was just to indicate my business as a pack representative was concluded. What I have to say now is strictly personal."

Oh boy. I wasn't sure I liked the sound of that. He was still holding my hand, and now he started to stroke it gently. I withdrew it on the pretense of grabbing my coffee cup.

His wild green eyes held my gaze as I drank. "I've been thinking about you a lot, Sookie. My offer still stands. I want you to move in with me."

I gulped down the last of my coffee and set the cup on the table. "That's very kind of you to offer, but as you can see, I don't need a place right now. I'm all set until the construction on my house is complete."

"I know. That's why I'm asking you again."

I frowned at him, puzzled. "I don't follow…"

"You said you didn't want to move in with me just because you needed a place to stay, and we were hot for each other," he explained. "Well, now you don't need a place to stay. If you chose to move in with me, it wouldn't be out of necessity, but desire. And, though we are still hot for each other, I don't think that's a bad thing, do you?" He grinned at me.

I bit my lip and looked down at the table. This was going to be no fun at all. "Alcide—"

"We would be good together, Sookie. You know this."

"I don't know that, Alcide," I said gently. His smile faded. "Look, we've barely seen each other in weeks. You've been going through… Well, I don't presume to know what you've been going through. I know you're hurting, and I know it's my fault you're hurting."

"It isn't, Sookie! I don't blame you for Debbie's death. You were defending yourself; she attacked you. And anyway, I abjured her. She was dead to me already."

"You keep saying that but I don't think it's true. I've hurt you and I'm grateful that you want to forgive me so readily, but I don't think you're being honest with yourself."

Alcide took a deep breath. Then he frowned. Through his Were brain, I caught the red haze of anger as it swept over him.

"You're with Eric now."

It wasn't a question, but I answered it anyway. "Yes. I am his."

He erupted. "Sookie, haven't you learned anything? These fangers just want to drain you and rape you. They don't care about you!"

"Eric would never hurt me! And Bill wouldn't either."

He just looked at me, his expression a mixture of skepticism and pity. I didn't have to be a mind reader to know what he was thinking.

"Alcide, I don't want to talk about this again. He wasn't in control of his actions; he didn't know what he was doing. Can you please just drop it?"

"You risked your life to save that son of a bitch, and look how he repaid you! Eric'll do the same thing."

"He won't. He's never lost control around me. I know I'm safe with him."

"Sookie, will you listen to yourself? He's a vampire. They eat people!"

"I'm well aware of that, Alcide. But Eric is old, much older than Bill even. He barely takes more than a sip."

I was so distracted by his anger and the increasing tension of our conversation, I neglected to maintain my shields. I got a read on Alcide before I could block him out again. He was wondering how I knew how much blood Eric drank, but he didn't want to ask me that question. He already had a pretty good idea of the answer, and it just made him angrier. I hurriedly raised my shields again before I caught any more of his thoughts.

"You're in danger every moment you're with a vampire," he said instead. "And you have no future with them."

I gave him a wry smile. "They're immortal, Alcide. All they have is a future."

"But you're not. And you want children, don't you? A family? A real home?"

I felt tears start to well up, but I forced them back. That cut me deep. I knew being with Eric meant I was giving up on my chance to be a mother someday. I didn't want kids now, but eventually? Yeah. I did. I'd be a real good mama, too, and it killed me that if I stayed with Eric, that would never happen.

Alcide saw he'd struck a nerve, and he softened. He took on a gentler tone. "Sookie, I can give you all that. I want kids, too."

"No, you don't," I cut in. "You told me you broke it off with Debbie because you didn't want children."

"I didn't want two-natured children. Growing up in the pack—it's a lot of pressure for a kid. But if you and I got together, that wouldn't be an issue. Our kids wouldn't be Weres, they wouldn't have to shift at the full moon. And you and me… we'd make some beautiful babies together." He smiled wistfully. "And I would care for you, provide for you. I would love you."

"Alcide—"

"We could grow old together. Spend our whole lives together." He looked at me determinedly. "You can't do that with Eric. Do you think he'd even stay with you as you age?"

I started hyperventilating. It's not like I was ignorant of these issues. I'd thought of them in passing when I was with Bill. But to have it all laid out before me like this, the way Alcide was confronting me with them, one after another… it was too much.

"I think you should go."

"Sookie—"

"No! I'm with Eric now, got it? I know he's a vampire and I'm a human. That I'll age and he won't. That I can never bear his children and it's possible he'll leave me someday. But for right now, I am happy. Can you just let me enjoy this?"

Alcide's jaw clenched, and I could see the pulse throb in his neck. "You're too special to throw yourself away on a dead guy who cares nothing for you. When you realize that, come to me. I'll be waiting."

He got up abruptly and left without another word. 


	10. 10 Sookie

For a long time I just sat there, too overwhelmed to take it all in.

What Alcide had said was harsh, but that didn't make it any less true. And I knew he was a good man. I believed he was sincere in wanting what was best for me. But what he thought was right for me and what I wanted for myself didn't exactly mesh all the same. He was a bit like Eric in that way.

I was getting a little tired of all these well-intentioned but high-handed men planning out my life for me. Didn't I have a job, and until recently, a house of my own? Hadn't I supported myself for several years now? Granted, sometimes things were tight, and it wasn't like my salary at Merlotte's was anything to crow about, but I was doing fine. I didn't need some man to step in and take care of me.

Though it was nice that Alcide wanted to. It was patronizing, and not at all modern, but it felt good to be wanted like that. To know that someone would want to have a family with me. Would want to spend their life with me.

But then there was the flipside of Alcide. That other part of him, that was so easy to disregard when he was being as sweet as he was, or looking as good as he did. The part of him that brought me to Colonel Flood's funeral under false pretenses, that used my guilt and shame over what I'd done to his ex-girlfriend to blackmail me into doing what he wanted. The part of him that didn't have the courage to just be honest and ask me for my help, when I would have been more than happy to assist him in any way I could.

That showed he didn't think much of me, didn't it? If he thought I had to be manipulated into helping a friend, that I was too dumb or too callous to grasp how important this was to him… Well, that certainly didn't bode well for whatever future he thought we might have together. Why couldn't he just be straight with me? Even now, I doubt he would have told me he wanted me to read Furnan tomorrow if I hadn't pressed him on it.

I still hadn't decided whether I'd do it or not. I was very reluctant to involve myself any further in the dangerous world of supernatural politics. It was bad enough my ties to the vampires had made me a primo target for the Fellowship of the Sun or whoever it was who got it into their head to try to barbecue me in my own house, now Alcide wanted to involve me in his pack's power squabbles, too? Uh-uh. If I could find a way out of this that didn't feel like I was betraying a friend, I'd take it.

I hated having to doubt people, to question their motives. I got enough of that dealing with humans. Being around supes was supposed to be a break. For once, I wouldn't know just how deceitful and two-faced the person sitting across from me could be. I wouldn't know what they were thinking about me, and I could have the luxury of hoping for the best, instead of the certainty of knowing the worst.

But when Alcide used his knowledge of what I'd done against me, that little fantasy I was living in shattered. Supes, even those I considered my friends, could be just as double-dealing as regular people; they were just a little harder for me to detect, that was all.

Maybe that was why I always had assumed the worst with Eric. Between him and Alcide, it was Eric who was the master manipulator, Eric who managed to turn every circumstance to his advantage. Alcide had always been so kind and thoughtful towards me. If the knowledge of how I ended Debbie could lead him to blackmail, how much more so would someone like Eric be tempted?

But strangely, over the course of the last couple nights, it was like my whole world had rearranged itself. Eric was now one of, if not the, people I trusted the most. I couldn't explain it, really. Sure, we'd had a couple deep conversations, but it went beyond that. I had this instinctive feeling that I was safe with him, and I had to fight this weird need to just go along with whatever he wanted, even when I knew he was being an ass. I actually felt a little guilty for disobeying him last night and going with Sam, as ridiculous as that was. I attributed that to making him worry, which I was genuinely sorry for, but that wasn't quite it.

Everything was moving way too fast. I was feeling things it took me weeks to develop with Bill and I just couldn't understand it. I was happy, though. At least I knew that. Just being near him made me feel good all over, like a rush.

I looked at the clock and saw I had a couple hours left before I had to head into work. Perfect, I had a few errands to run anyway.

My first stop was at the local hardware store, to have a set of spare keys made. I definitely did not want a repeat of last night. While I was at it, I made a copy for Eric, too. It was a spur of the moment decision, and later on I did think it was a bit early to consider giving him a key (We weren't even dating yet, were we?) but I figured I could hold on to it and give it to him when the time felt right. Besides, I rationalized, it was better for him to have a key than to bust down my door. I knew if he wanted in, a little property damage wouldn't dissuade him in the slightest.

I did a little grocery shopping before heading home and making a casserole and some biscuits for Calvin. It was still only late afternoon by the time I arrived at Hotshot, and his house looked pretty quiet, a couple extra cars lining the dirt road being the only sign something unusual was going on. I scooped up the food and carried it to the door. A nice, though somewhat strange-looking woman named Maryelizabeth took it from me, and ushered me in back to Calvin's room, where he sat propped up by a lot of pillows.

"Hi Sookie, it's good to see you."

I leaned over to give him a hug. "I'm glad to see you're doing well." I smiled at him. But as I pulled away, I caught the note of displeasure in his expression.

I practically predicted the next words that came out of his mouth. "You smell different. You're taking up with a vampire again?"

"Yes," I answered bluntly. He hadn't put that very nicely, so I didn't feel obliged to expand.

Not meeting my eyes, he spoke quietly. "Did I ever stand a chance with you at all?"

Oh god, I did not want to have this conversation again. "Calvin, I'm sorry, but I just don't see you that way."

He looked grim. "Well, I thank you for coming to visit with me. If you stay a while, we're having a party a little later. Crystal and your brother should be stopping by."

I was happy to hear my brother had been welcomed back into the tight-knit community. After the suspicion that surrounded him during the shifter shootings, it was a great weight off my chest to know the panthers of Hotshot didn't have it out for him anymore. At least some good had come from Sweetie's death.

"Thank you for inviting me, but I'm working tonight…" I gestured towards my outfit. I'd dressed in my work clothes so I could head straight into Merlotte's after leaving Hotshot.

He nodded. "Then I won't keep you."

On my way out, I paused and turned back to him. "I wanted to thank you for sending Dawson last night; at least, I assume you sent him?"

"Yeah, I told him to finish out his last night watching over you."

"Well, I appreciate it."

He regarded me curiously. "Did you need his protection?"

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "He didn't tell you?"

Calvin shook his head. Too late I remembered Eric warned him not to say anything.

"Andy Bellefleur didn't take Sweetie out by himself, did he?" Calvin looked at me knowingly.

"No. He didn't." I hoped I wouldn't have to give him any more details, and to my relief, he didn't press me further.

"Well I'm glad he was of service to you. If you ever need the protection of my pack, you know we're here for you."

"Thank you. And if there's ever anything I can do to help you out, just ask."

He gave me a firm nod, and I relaxed somewhat. Calvin was a good leader, and a valuable ally. In the back of my mind, I'd known that his interest in me wasn't purely platonic, but I was relieved that he didn't hold my lack of reciprocation against me. With my brother a newly turned werepanther, he needed someone like Calvin to keep an eye on him. Jason was enough trouble when he was fully human.

"Goodbye, Calvin. I hope you enjoy your party." I gave him a tentative smile.

"Goodbye, Sookie." There was a note of finality in his voice.

I arrived at Merlotte's less than a half hour later. I walked into Sam's office to drop off my purse as usual, but he looked so surprised to see me I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Sookie, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? I'm working tonight."

"Didn't you get my note?"

"What note?"

"The one I posted on your front door."

"When did you do that?"

"This afternoon. I saw your car wasn't in the driveway, but I thought you'd see it when you got back."

"We must have just missed each other. I headed here straight after going out."

"Well… I got Linda to cover for you tonight."

"Oh." This was awkward. "You didn't want me to come in…" He didn't want to see me. I didn't blame him. For the umpteenth time I asked myself if I'd made the right decision coming clean with him last night.

He must have read what I'd been thinking on my face. "No, Sookie, it's not because of that." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I just figured you could use a break tonight, after all the shit you've been going through."

"Oh. Well, thanks. That was nice of you."

"Don't mention it. The least I could do after…" He gestured towards my arm. "How're you feeling? No fever or chills? How's your arm?"

"I feel perfectly fine." I held out my forearm to him. "Look, you can't even see your teeth marks." I smiled at him.

"Thank god." He leaned back against his desk.

His obvious relief confused me. It wasn't that serious an injury. It hurt like a mother, as all bites do, but it wasn't life-threatening or anything. Then it hit me. Sam bit me. In his shifted form. Did that mean I'd become—

"Oh shit, Sam! Am I going to change now?"

"No," he said firmly. "No. You're not going to change, Sookie. It was only one bite, and Eric gave you his blood right after. I'm sure that killed the virus. It's unusual for it to take after only one bite, anyway."

"But Sweetie said…"

"That was different. She'd been in a car accident and had already lost a lot of blood when she was attacked. She wasn't able to clean the bite wound or get any kind of medical attention either. And I'm a true shifter—you're much more likely to change after being bitten by a Were. True bitten shifters are extremely rare. I've never heard of one actually." He patted me on the shoulder reassuringly. "No, you'll be fine, Sookie."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. "Thank goodness. I wasn't looking forward to turning into… Well, what would I have turned into? A bitten werebloodhound? Half woman, half dog? Oh god, that sounds hideous!"

Sam laughed. "I don't know. You might look cute with a little tail, some droopy ears…" I smacked him lightly on the arm.

We smiled at each other. I was so happy that despite the drama of last night, we could still joke around. That meant I hadn't ruined things, right?

"Listen Sookie, I'm sorry I bit you. I got carried away and—"

I waved aside his apology. "It was my fault. It was stupid of me to grab you from behind. You never approach an angry dog that way, I should have known better."

"Still, I should have kept my cool. I was upset after what you told me in the car, but that's no excuse."

"Don't worry about it, Sam. I understand. I just hope that what I said… that I didn't damage our—"

"Shh, chère. We're good."

"Friends?"

"You don't have to ask me that, Sookie. You know I will always be your friend. I am here for you, no matter what."

I hugged him as hard as I dared to, not wanting to throw him off balance and get his leg hurt all over again. "Thank you, Sam. I couldn't stand it if anything was broken between us."

He smiled at me as I pulled away. "That's never going to happen. I could never stay mad at you for long, even if you'd done something for me to be angry about, which you didn't. Last night was on me."

"Let's not talk about it anymore."

"Okay."

I noticed he was a lot steadier on his feet than he'd been lately, and he wasn't favoring his left leg as much. He wasn't even carrying the wooden cane he'd replaced his crutches with a couple days ago. "Hey, where's your cane?"

He shrugged. "Don't need it. My leg's pretty much back to normal. Shifters heal quick."

"Well, that's good to hear. You're pretty crotchety as an invalid, you know." He smiled at me.

"I know I've been a shit lately. Thanks for putting up with me."

"So I guess we won't need Charles for much longer, huh?"

"Yeah, I think I'll tell him tomorrow that it'll be his last night. To be honest, he couldn't leave too soon."

"You don't like him? The customers seem to."

"They like him a little too much," Sam grumbled jealously. I could see he was miffed by all the attention the flamboyant pirate was getting.

"Aww, Sam, everyone loves you. It wouldn't be Merlotte's without Sam Merlotte, right?"

He cheered up at my words. "So what do you want to do? You and Linda could work your shift together. Or I could call her and tell her not to come in; she might not have left her house yet."

"No, it's alright. She's got kids, she needs the tips more than I do. I'll just head back home."

"Alright then, Sookie. You have a nice night."

I waved goodbye to him and left the office. On my way out, I caught the tail-end of Andy Bellefleur's heroic tale of how he'd single-handedly taken out the serial sniper of Bon Temps. Danielle and the new girl, Jada, stood around his table, enthralled. His girlfriend Halleigh just looked bored. I caught from her mind this wasn't the first time she'd heard the story. More like the seventeenth. I smiled to myself and exited the bar.

I was relaxing on my living room couch just after dark when Eric called.

"So I take it you made it home okay?"

"It was a near thing, but I did beat the sun, yes."

"I don't like how close you cut it."

"I'm fine, Sookie."

"I know, but you could've just as easily been caught mid-air and burnt to a crisp! I don't want you leaving here so late anymore. It's too dangerous."

"My, how the tables have turned."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Eric chuckled. "Nothing. A little joke. But please, continue to worry about me. I like this new concern you have over me."

"I'm serious, Eric. Don't do that again."

"But you're so enticing. How can I tear myself away?"

"Well, then stay the day."

"I'd be delighted," he said immediately.

I snorted. "I bet you would. What do I have to do to make this place light-tight for you?"

"Don't trouble yourself. I'll send Pam over tonight to take care of it."

"Oh, good! I haven't seen her in a while. We'll get a chance to catch up."

He grumbled. "I can only imagine what the two of you will get up to."

"Now, now. Don't begrudge us our girl talk."

Eric grunted his displeasure. "My father always warned me never to leave the women alone together. I didn't think it would take me this long to appreciate his advice."

I had to laugh at that. 


	11. 11 Pam

I unlocked the back door of Fangtasia, flicked on the lights and began the routine of opening the bar for the evening. My phone rang just as I was unlocking the register. I checked who it was. Ugh. Bobby Burnham.

"What do you want?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Ms. Ravenscroft, but I've been unable to reach Mr. Northman on his cell. I keep getting routed to his voicemail."

"So leave a message, then." I rolled my eyes. Eric's choice in dayman left much to be desired.

"I did, but he told me he wanted to know about this immediately."

"Spit it out, Bobby."

"AT&T's CFO and head of marketing have agreed to an evening meeting this Tuesday. They'll listen to his proposal and if they decide to back him, they'll present it to the board the following morning."

"Fine, message received. Anything else?"

"No, that's it ma'am. I hope you have a pleasant eve—" I hung up on the sniveling little shit.

I heard the Corvette pull in. Eric wasn't on bar duty tonight, so he went directly to his office. Good. He had a crapload of paperwork he was behind on, and since he refused to learn how to use a computer, everything took much longer than it needed to. Sophie-Anne was just as anachronistic. All her official missives still came by demon-delivered post. The old ones really needed to get with the times. After all, I was a Victorian, but I could email, text and im as proficiently as any Facebook-addled tween. And I was certain if Eric would just give the computer a chance, he'd master that technology as easily as he had caught on to cellphones. Eric was resistant to that, too, at first, but now he and his phone were inseparable. I swear he had a closer relationship with that little hunk of plastic than he did with me sometimes.

Fifteen minutes late as usual, Clancy skulked in to take up his post behind the bar. He was a piss-poor substitute for Charles, who kept the cattle entertained with his antics and swashbuckling flair. They ate that shit up. Fortunately for him, pirates were trendy right now, especially after all those homoerotic Disney movies came out. (Johnny Depp would make an excellent vampire, don't you think?)

Clancy, on the other hand, had never been the same after Hallow was through with him. He was always a pompous prick, but at least he used to be a somewhat attractive and amusing pompous prick. After being drained and brought back from the brink of the true death, however, his face had sunk in on itself, his skin had become even more pale and papery, and his flaming red hair had lost its luster. He truly looked like death warmed over. (Only obviously not so much with the warmth.) He had a hard time attracting the most indiscriminate of fangbangers now, and his whole ordeal had made him bitter and more of a pain in the ass to live with than he already was. We couldn't have him out on the floor anymore. We sold glamour, not gore. Clancy was better suited to running the back office if he didn't regain his appearance soon. Maybe we could make him bar manager? A fancy title might be enough to distract him from the reality of demotion.

Why couldn't the witches have killed Clancy instead of Chow? I missed our slab of Japanese muscle. He wasn't particularly entertaining or terribly bright, but he was easy on the eyes, and the vermin liked that. Our revenues were down ever since Clancy took over. I needed to find a proper replacement for Charles, and soon. Maybe a female…

Just as the first fangbangers started to trickle in for the evening, I signaled to Indira to take my place at the door and headed to the back of the bar to begin my favorite nightly ritual: busting Eric's balls.

I knocked twice on the door and then let myself into his office. He was already hard at work, hunched over the latest Area reports.

"So how was last night's marathon session of erotic hand-holding? Or did you two finally go further than that?"

Not bothering to look at me, he ignored my question completely. "Hello Pam. I have a job for you. As it happens, it does involve Sookie."

I put my hands on my hips and stared at him warily. "What? You want me to play lady's maid again?"

"No, not lady's maid. Carpenter." He finally looked up from his desk to smirk at me. "Pick up some plywood on your way over. I want you to light-proof Sookie's bedroom."

I was about to unleash my fury on my maker when I caught that last phrase. "Sookie's bedroom? Does that mean—"

"No."

"You've got to be shitting me! What about last night? You said you were 'busy'?"

"I was about to be. And then you called." He glared at me.

I snickered. "If I hadn't, you'd be a pile of ash right now."

"Noted. And I appreciate that. However, the next time you interrupt us, I will tell you to fuck off."

I gave him a fangy grin. "Well, if you weren't planning on getting lucky last night, why were you in such a rush to leave?"

He shrugged. "Sookie was in danger. She was doing something incredibly stupid and needed rescuing. The usual. Now get out of here, I have work to do." He waved a hand dismissively at me and returned his attention to the reports.

Just as I was about to leave, I remembered Bobby's message. "By the way, your meeting with AT&T is a go. Check your voicemail for details. What's that about anyway?"

Eric leaned back in his chair and smiled, bringing the tips of his fingers together like a Bond villain. Maybe I should get him a white cat. "A small side venture. We'll see how it pans out, but it has the potential to be very lucrative."

"You still haven't told me about your meeting with Andre, you know. And who was that woman?"

Eric's face darkened. "I'll fill you in on your drive to Bon Temps. Now go."

I arrived at Sookie's temporary hovel an hour and a half later. Eric was oddly guarded during our conversation on the way over. He told me about his adventures last night in greater detail, but when it came to the meeting he wouldn't say much. I gathered he'd been audited, but he wouldn't tell me why. By the end of our talk, I'd learned little more than what I'd already inferred beforehand. After all, why would Eric have me fetch Bruce if his finances weren't somehow involved? It was unlike him to be so cagey. Something was definitely up.

I gathered up the hateful carpentry supplies and made my way to Sookie's door. Honestly, menial labor like this was beneath me. I'm over a century and a half old, and more to the point, I just had a French manicure done! If I broke a nail prepping Eric's little love nest, there would be hell to pay.

To her credit, Sookie was prompt in answering the door, and after inviting me in, she helped me carry in some of the supplies.

As she led me through the kitchen, I picked up on the unmistakable scent of Were. Highly masculine, highly pheromoned. Hmm. Sookie entertained an interesting guest today. My fangs protruded as I anticipated the fun I'd have telling Eric this.

"There's a closet in the second bedroom that I think would work," Sookie said over her shoulder. "We could pull up the floorboards and make a little hidey-hole, just like Bill did in my house."

"No, Sookie. Eric's orders were clear. He wants your bedroom light-proofed. Besides, my maker doesn't sleep in hidey-holes." I spat out the word with disdain. "Eric and I prefer beds. We are civilized vampires, not heathen dirt-sleepers."

Sookie rolled her eyes at my hauteur. I suppose it was understandable. She was used to fucking a lower class of vampire.

We entered her bedroom and I examined it thoroughly for any cracks in the walls, floor or ceiling where light might penetrate. Though the apartment was small and hideously decorated, it was soundly constructed. The bedroom door opened onto a windowless hallway, and was fairly flush to the floor. All we would have to do is seal off the few windows in this room, and Eric could spend the day here in relative safety.

"Close the blinds completely and let them drop all the way. Good. Now the plywood won't be visible from outside the house. It's less conspicuous that way."

I handed Sookie the first sheet of plywood and she held it in place while I made quick work securing it with the hammer and nails. Then we installed the curtain rod and the blackout curtains in front of it. My maker can never be too protected. Also, the thick velvet draperies lent Sookie's bedroom just a touch of style, which heaven knows, it was sorely lacking. We really needed to sit down and address her penchant for Walmart fashions and country crap décor some time.

As we repeated the process for the other windows, I prodded her for information.

"So for how much longer do you plan on torturing him?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Shall I be more crass?" I shot Sookie a pointed look. "How long will you make Eric wait before you finally fuck him six ways to Sunday?"

"Pam!" She turned a delicate shade of pink. Oh, how cute.

"Well?" I grinned at her, flashing a little fang.

Sookie kept her eyes straight ahead as she admitted, "As a matter of fact, I was planning on sleeping with him tonight."

"Excellent. It's about damn time. I don't know how much longer I could put up with him like this."

She looked over at me. "What do you mean?"

"He's been a grouchy bastard for the last month. In all the years I've known him, I've never seen him this frustrated."

"What? Because of me?" She gave me a dubious smile. "Be real, Pam."

"Sookie, his balls are so blue, if he weren't a vampire, they would have fallen off by now."

"Oh my god!" She clapped a hand over her mouth and shook with laughter.

"Laugh it up, but it's true. I don't think he's ever gone this long without sex before."

She stopped laughing and eyed me skeptically. "That is just really hard to believe. What about all the fangbangers? Haven't they been taking care of him?"

"He hasn't fucked a fangbanger in weeks, Sookie. Not since before he was cursed." I gave this a minute to sink in. It was shocking, even to me, and I'd known about Eric's absurd bout of celibacy this whole time.

"Why not?" She asked in a small voice.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't be obtuse. You know why."

"That's ridiculous, Pam."

"Is it? Tell me, how many times has he dropped everything to go to you now? I've lost count. Do you know he almost walked out on the Queen's emissary to rescue you last night? That he's been neglecting his businesses and duties as Sheriff just to spend time with you? I've been covering for him so far, but he can't go on like this. I like you, Sookie, and I want him to be happy, but it's not good."

"Are things really that bad?"

I paused, considering how much to tell her. "I can see that he's tense. There's something going on that he won't tell me about. He usually tells me everything, so that means he's been forbidden from letting me know." I realized that just as I was saying it to her. That was the best explanation; Eric never kept anything from me without a good reason. "Whatever it is, it has to be serious."

I turned to her. "And he's been very worried about you, Sookie. I heard he took out the shooter last night?" She nodded. "Well that's something at least. You really must make an effort to stay out of trouble. You can't expect Eric to swoop down and save you all the time."

Sookie looked offended. "I don't! I can take care of myself."

I just shook my head and looked away. Humans.

"Really, Pam. I don't expect Eric to be my bodyguard. I'm grateful that he did save me, of course, but if he wasn't there, I'd handle it."

"I know you're brave, Sookie. But you're also mortal. You have a habit of forgetting that."

Sookie's phone rang as we finished hanging the last curtain. She stepped away to answer it. I recognized Eric's voice at once and pretended to be engrossed in the arrangement of the curtain, though of course I could hear everything they were saying.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I'm afraid I can't make it tonight."

"Why the hell not?" I concealed a smile. Apparently Eric wasn't the only one who was frustrated.

"I've been summoned to New Orleans. I'm flying there now. From the looks of things, I'll be stuck there tomorrow night as well."

"Is it the Queen? Or her emissary? Are they mad you tried to cut your meeting short?" Damn Sookie and her big mouth.

"What has Pam been telling you? Pam! I know you're listening. Answer me." Fuck.

"Yes, Eric?" I called out sweetly. "Sookie and I were just chatting, that's all. I may have mentioned you had a meeting last night—"

Eric cut me off with a string of Swedish curses. "Get back to Fangtasia. I'll need you to cover for me tonight and tomorrow. I left Clancy in charge, gods help us all."

I made an exaggerated show of walking out of the room, clomping my heels loudly and then turned to face Sookie, eager to eavesdrop on the rest of their conversation. She grinned at me and nodded, agreeing to play along.

"She's still there, isn't she?" Damn it.

"No," Sookie said slowly. "She just left…"

"You're a terrible liar, Sookie. Pam, get the hell out of there." I pouted and waved goodbye to my telepathic friend before zipping out to my car and beginning the long drive back to Fangtasia. Dealing with Clancy was going to be a bitch and a half. I couldn't believe Eric had assigned him any real power, even temporarily. He'd be insufferable over the next couple nights. 


	12. 12 Sookie

"Okay, she's really gone now," I told Eric.

"Good. How did the light-proofing go?"

"Fine. We put up plywood over all the windows and curtains on top of that, so you should be doubly protected."

"Why the overkill? Not that I'm not flattered by your devotion to my safety."

"Oh, that wasn't my doing. That was all Pam's idea. She cares about you very much, you know."

"Yes, she is a good child."

"Aww."

"Shut up, Sookie."

I snickered. "Well, I hope you enjoy your time down in New Orleans away from me," I finished a little tartly. I yawned. "I think I'll go to bed now. 'Night, Eric."

"Wait, no! Don't hang up yet. Keep me company for a while. I have a long, boring flight ahead of me. You'll make it go by faster."

"Oh, am I your in-flight entertainment?"

"Yes. Talking to you beats any movie."

"Why thank you. But do you really think you should be flying while chatting on a cellphone? It's bad enough when drivers do it, it can't be much better for the flying undead."

He laughed. "It's perfectly safe, Sookie. I'm not on any well-traveled flight paths, and besides, the only other things flying at this altitude are birds. I can take them."

I pictured Eric battling a flock of geese and smiled to myself.

"So how was your day? Get into any more trouble?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

I filled him in on my conversation with Alcide, though I may have left out a few pesky details, focusing instead on the packmaster invite.

"I have a sneaking suspicion if I forbid you from going, you'll go all the same just to spite me."

I grinned. He was learning. "You're probably right."

"So if you must go, don't interfere. Stay neutral. Don't let Alcide pressure you into doing any more favors for him. If his father is unsuccessful in the contest, you'll want to stay on the right side of the new packmaster."

I considered what he said. It sounded awfully similar to what I'd been thinking already. "That seems like good advice."

"The better advice would be to stay away entirely. Weres are filthy creatures. They are not worthy of your attention."

I rolled my eyes. "Now that sounds more like the Eric I know."

"But, they have offered you their protection, as meager as it is, and I suppose you feel obligated to attend."

"I do."

"Then I'll send Dawson to watch your back."

"What, he works for you now?"

"Not yet. But he will. I am very persuasive."

I shook my head and switched him to speakerphone, so I could start getting ready for bed while we talked. "You can't buy everyone, Eric."

"Sure I can. Everyone has a price."

"Not me." I pulled out a nightshirt and started to change.

"No," he said softly. "Not you."

"Sam's doing well, by the way. He's still got a slight limp, but he doesn't need his cane anymore."

"Oh, thanks for telling me. I'm relieved to hear your idiot shifter boss is recovering nicely."

I frowned at the phone. "That was mean, Eric."

"Need I remind you he bit you?"

"By accident. And he apologized for that today." I shrugged, even though obviously he couldn't see me. "It's water under the bridge."

Eric snorted. "You are far too forgiving, Sookie. And you're lucky he isn't a Were."

"Yeah, we talked about that, too. If you hadn't been there to give me blood…" I shuddered. "I guess I really dodged a bullet there."

"All the more reason to be careful tomorrow. You'll be among a pack of Weres, and they'll all be riled up… I really wish you wouldn't go."

"I'll be careful, I promise," I assured him. "Anyway, the reason I brought Sam up is, now that he's feeling better, we won't need Charles for much longer. Maybe one more night and he's all yours."

"Pam will be pleased."

"She likes Charles?"

"No, but she likes money. Clancy isn't working out as bartender. The customers are afraid of him, and not in a good way. Our receipts for the past week have been down."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that."

"It's of no importance. I'm sure the bar will recover once Charles returns. How's he been working out for you?"

"Oh, great," I said a little flatly. "He's quite a draw."

"You sound less than enthused. You don't like him?"

"No, he's fine, Eric. He's been a very good bartender."

I paused, struggling to decide whether I should tell him or not. How could I explain how leery I was of the pirate vampire, ever since my unexpected peek inside his head? There was no real reason I could give for my unease, other than the fact that I'd read his mind and I was afraid he'd sensed something was off about me. But I couldn't tell Eric that.

My mind flashed back to the stray thoughts I'd garnered from Charles' head. In my anxiety, I'd gone over them so many times I had them committed to memory.

«Such a pity. What a waste, a talent like hers. She smells different tonight. His scent is all over her. Then it's true. My master will be pleased.»

Though the source was unsettling, the thoughts themselves were perfectly innocuous. Charles apparently disapproved of my chosen profession, thinking it was a pity my talent was wasted. It was true waitressing at Merlotte's gave me little opportunity to put my telepathy to use, though it had helped me flush out a drainer just over a week ago. He also thought his master would be pleased knowing I smelled like him—he was obviously referring to Eric there. I did think it was unusual for Charles to refer to Eric as his 'master' (as far as I knew, only Fangtasia's human staff called Eric by that name) but then again, Charles was the low vampire on the totem pole. Maybe it was a respect thing; the vampires were big on that.

I had to admit Charles was right on both accounts. Eric certainly had been pleased lately. Save for our little dust-up on my porch, according to Pam he hadn't been in this good a mood in weeks. He was playful and teasing and light again, something I didn't realize I'd missed until I'd gone so long without it.

As for Charles' disapproval regarding my job, though I enjoyed it, I knew it wasn't the most fulfilling line of work I might have taken up. But, it paid the bills and kept me busy and among people, something my Gran had encouraged. She was always concerned about my tendency towards isolation, not understanding that it was only when I was by myself that I could find any peace.

That changed when I met my first vampire. I found their company so comforting because their minds were silent to me, mere voids that didn't intrude on my consciousness. I could relax in their silence.

Except when I couldn't. My occasional flashes of vamp telepathy were unpredictable in the extreme. If there was a trigger for this terrifying aspect of my disability, I had yet to discover it.

This was my most closely guarded secret, and though I trusted Eric, evidently I didn't trust him enough. Something held me back from telling him, and whatever it was, I followed that instinct.

"Sookie? What's wrong?"

"Hmm?"

"You've been quiet for a while. What are you thinking?"

"Oh, nothing. I zoned out there for a second. I'm sorry."

I was willing to bet he was raising that damn eyebrow again. After a pause, he resumed his light tone. "So what else did you do today?"

"Well, I visited Calvin Norris in Hotshot."

He growled. "You've been hanging around too many men."

"Don't get testy," I scolded him. "Besides, I don't think I'll be seeing much of him anymore." I picked up the phone and carried it with me into the bathroom, propping it up on the counter.

"That's good to hear. What happened?"

"He smelled you on me." He chuckled, obviously pleased with himself. "A lot of people have been doing that, actually. What gives?" I gargled some water and squeezed some toothpaste onto my brush.

"I don't understand your question."

I spat. "Yes, you do." I narrowed my eyes at the phone. "Why is your smell clinging to me all of a sudden? I've been following the same routine I normally do, but it's like everywhere I go, every supe I know has to tell me I smell like you. It's getting kind of offensive." I started brushing.

"Sookie, like everything about me, my scent is powerful and masculine. You've never been with anyone remotely like me before, so naturally, your own delicious scent is overwhelmed by my obvious manliness and superiority. Lesser males pick up on this and feel inadequate."

"That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard, Eric," I said around a mouthful of toothpaste.

His laugh was loud, rich and throaty. "Really? I thought it sounded pretty plausible."

I rinsed before responding, "Seriously, what the hell is going on? We haven't even had sex yet."

"Yet?" Of course he would focus on that word. "So I take it you plan on yielding to me soon?"

"It's too bad you had to fly to New Orleans tonight," I drawled. "You might have had the chance to find out." I wandered around my apartment, making sure all the lights were off and all the doors were locked before heading back to my bedroom.

Eric made a noise of deep regret. "You know I would infinitely rather be with you, than on my way to kiss the Queen's ass."

"Is that all this visit's about?" I folded down my sheets and slipped into bed, placing my phone on the nightstand.

"Unfortunately, probably not. Andre (that's the Queen's second-in-command I met with last night) didn't sound too happy over the phone. I expect this visit won't be a pleasant one."

I was just about to doze off when Eric's revelation had me fully awake again. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Me personally? No, I don't think so. Andre said all the Sheriffs were being summoned, and our meeting last night went rather well, all things considered. I think someone else may have raised the Queen's ire, and she wants to make an example of them. Royalty always loves an audience."

I relaxed again. "Well, as long as you're okay, I don't really care if some other Sheriff pissed off the Queen," I said around a yawn.

Eric snorted. "I wish I could say the same. Though, depending on who it is, it may work out alright for me."

"You always do seem to come out ahead," I murmured.

His quiet laugh in response was the last thing I remembered that night, as I drifted off to sleep. 


	13. 13 Eric

The sound of Sookie's breathing, deep and even, told me she'd fallen asleep. I ended the call somewhat troubled. I sensed she was keeping something from me but I had no idea what, or more importantly, why.

But, I had other shit to deal with tonight. What I told Sookie was true. I didn't believe I was the target of Sophie-Anne's inquisition. I had nothing to hide from the Queen; my business affairs were all above board and I'd followed every one of her edicts to the letter. However, I'd lived through my fair share of witch-hunts over the centuries, and I knew innocence was no guarantee of safety.

I had to be on my guard over the next couple nights. Though I was on friendly terms with the three other Louisiana Sheriffs: Arla Yvonne, Cleo Babbitt, and Salome, I knew any one of them would sell me out to save her own skin. I didn't hold it against them; if push came to shove, it's what I would do. You don't rise in the hierarchy without being ruthless.

I liked Arla and Cleo. Though they were young (Cleo even still used her human surname) they were capable, business-like vampires. With Cleo in particular, I didn't have to do the usual song and dance before coming to the point. She saw through flattery and insincere compliments as easily as I did, and she chose to cut out all the bullshit. I appreciated that.

Salome was another story. Only a couple centuries younger than me, she was definitely of the old mindset. With her, it was 'My most beautiful princess' this, or 'Radiant vision of loveliness' that. But heaping empty praise on women had always been second nature to me. Dealing with her was a minor annoyance, but nothing more.

Perversely, though I preferred Arla and Cleo to Salome, it would work out better for me if one of them was in trouble. I knew they had nothing on me, and Salome irritated both of them far more than I did. If Sophie-Anne had it out for one of them, I knew I was safe.

With Salome, there was the potential for trouble. Sookie's news last night, that rumors had been spreading in Baton Rouge about us, had her fangmarks all over them. Salome was an unrepentant gossip. Though I didn't care what she said among friends and business associates, the Queen was another matter entirely. I had no intention of letting either Sophie-Anne or Andre know the extent of my relationship with Sookie, not yet anyway. Making her mine would be enough to protect her from vampires of my rank or lower, but not from the machinations of royalty. No, I had to secure her more strongly before I let that happen.

Setting aside these ruminations, I focused on what had to be done right now. I had a few arrangements to make.

I called Pam and had her find the number of the Were bodyguard I'd assign Sookie tomorrow. She had it for me in seconds, taking the opportunity to lecture me on the virtues of the internet again. I told her I didn't need to bother with that, not when I had her to do the bitchwork for me. That earned me a couple minutes of entertainment before I had to get back to business.

The Were and I agreed on a price, which was far lower than what I was willing to pay, though, naturally, I kept that to myself. I gave him some very specific instructions on how I wanted Sookie handled, and he reluctantly agreed.

That done, I called Compton to inquire on his progress researching my latest acquisitions.

Three new vampires had settled in my Area over the past couple weeks. They provided me with references, and I had them all checked out, of course, though my Investigator was wont to drag his heels and needed an occasional swift kick in the ass. That, I was more than willing to provide.

"Eric."

"Bill. How goes your research?"

"Slowly. Unfortunately only one of them appeared in my database."

"What? You've been playing with your computer for months, and that's all you have to show for it?"

"Eric, you have to understand, building the database is a complicated and lengthy process—"

"You're boring me, Bill. Some of us value our time, infinite as it may be."

"My point is, I can't just type in a name or two and give you a full report. It takes time, Eric."

Excuses. "You can't handle just a couple background checks? Are you that incompetent, Compton? Ah. Incompetent Compton. Pam'll enjoy that."

"If you're finished admiring your own wit, may I continue?"

"Yes, Billy. You may proceed."

"Thalia was already in my database. Other vampires have brought her up frequently, though it's been difficult to distinguish facts from legends and mere conjecture. No one knows exactly how old she is. I've heard estimates ranging from fifteen to thirty-five hundred, though most accounts agree she is at least two thousand years old. Thalia herself has been extremely tight-lipped about her past. Besides her age, she has never revealed the identity of her maker, and none of my contacts are old enough to know for themselves."

"So after she's been living here for nearly a month, all you've been able to determine is that she's really, really old. Thank you, Bill, I don't know how I managed to run my Area without your keen detective skills."

I could hear him snarling over the phone. "I've found out a little more than that."

"Oh, then perhaps you'll enlighten me."

"As I said, the database has proven less than useful. So I turned to more conventional techniques. Thalia has a large following online, though much of the information on her past is apocryphal. Her more recent history, however, is fairly accurate. She's spent the last couple decades in Illinois, specifically Chicago. After the Great Revelation, the Sheriff of Area One booted her from the city and eventually the Kingdom for excessive violence."

Again, I could file all this information under 'shit I already knew.' "Bill, I told you most of that myself. Haven't you uncovered anything new?"

"I found her rap sheet. It's quite long. Assault, battery, manslaughter. But the charges were all dropped, and the ADA assigned to her case vanished a few days later."

Nothing surprising there. Thalia's temper was self-evident, and Pam had advised me strongly against accepting her. But, though she was somewhat unstable, she was also very old and powerful. Having a vampire like her in my corner was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"Let's move on. Tell me about Maxwell Lee."

"He was a yuppie trader on Wall Street during the '80s when he was brought over. He stayed in New York up through the Great Revelation, and even managed to mainstream back then. He worked as an out-of-house consultant for the Asian markets, since he was available only at night. Post Great Revelation, he outed himself as vampire and resumed his position at his old firm. They were only too happy to take him on again, as now he was a double minority hire. It was good press for them."

"Why did he leave New York?"

"He was heavily invested in tech stocks before the bubble burst. His career went downhill after that. There were some allegations of insider trading associated with his firm, but nothing that would stick. Eventually, he decided to cut his losses and get out of New York altogether. He applied to a couple banks throughout the South and apparently he thought Shreveport was the most attractive option."

Now that was interesting. I'd wondered why the strait-laced investment banker had petitioned to live in my Area. Shreveport was a respectable city, but it was hardly a financial capital. Now I had my answer: Maxwell had a checkered past. That was useful to know.

"Good work, Bill. How about Charles?"

"Uh, nothing so far."

"What? It's been three weeks! What am I paying you for?"

"You're not paying me."

"Hey, you campaigned for this job. Can't complain about the benefits now."

He grumbled something unintelligible in response.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Sheriff."

I returned to the topic at hand. "You've found nothing," I emphasized. "Nothing at all?"

"He has no criminal record, as far as I can ascertain, which is surprising in and of itself."

That was true. Vampires don't live for centuries without committing some kind of crime.

"I can't find any record of him in Jackson, though you told me he was staying at the palace, so there wouldn't be, would there?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Edgington vouched for him, though he said he only had the barest recollection of him."

Actually, what Russell said was that he'd had so many pretty young men, human and vampire, it was impossible for him to remember them all. But I spared Bill this detail.

"I was able to track down his maker, but he died again centuries ago. I don't know who he's currently pledged to, if he's pledged to anyone at all, but I have a couple contacts who haven't reported back yet. They say they might have something for me tomorrow night."

"Contact me as soon as you get the particulars."

"Will do."

Just as I was about to hang up, Bill interjected, "How is Sookie?"

"She's fine."

"I saw her in Merlotte's last night. She was glowing."

"Yes, I do have that effect on women."

He growled. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"I gave her blood. What of it?"

"Interesting timing. Just as I'm about to rekindle my relationship with her—"

"Oh, get over yourself, Bill," I said with a chuckle. "She has."

He was silent a moment before muttering, "You don't know that."

"Actually I do." I'd hoped to say this next sentence in person, so I could see his face as he took it in, but now I couldn't resist. "Sookie is mine."

"What—"

I ended our conversation in a much better mood than when I'd begun it. Bill Compton did have his uses after all.

I arrived at the palace less than an hour before dawn. The ground floor was quiet and mostly deserted this late in the night, save for a smattering of human guards. I was met in the lobby by a young vampire, freshly turned by the look of her.

"Sheriff Northman, thank you for coming. The others have already gone to ground. The Queen told me to wait for you and show you to your quarters for the day."

"Thank you, Miss?"

"Delahoussaye. But you can call me Hadley." She turned and led me to the elevators. As we rode up together, I looked her over. Something about her was vaguely familiar. Dark-haired, slim build, delicate features. Then I remembered. Of course, she was one of the Queen's pets. I'd seen her occasionally during my previous visits, but I'd never bothered to learn her name. Sophie-Anne went through humans so quickly, it hardly seemed worth the effort.

But she apparently took a shine to this one. "Did she turn you herself?"

"Yes," Hadley replied coolly, her eyes trained on the elevator doors.

"When, if I may ask?"

"A little over a year ago."

"How are you adjusting?"

"It's been… difficult. It's not at all how I imagined it to be."

We arrived at our floor, and the doors slid open. Hadley led me down a corridor to a bedroom at the end of the hall. She unlocked the door with a keycard and held it open, motioning for me to enter. I thanked her and was surprised when she followed me inside, leaning against the door as it autolocked behind her.

Her eyes were wide and focused intently on me. I'd seen that look countless times.

I raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, not interested."

She blinked in confusion for a few seconds and then laughed quietly. "I'm not propositioning you. I just want to talk."

Oh. This was a first. I crossed my arms and waited.

She approached me a little nervously, keeping her voice low. "Are the rumors true? Are you in love with Sookie Stackhouse?"

Well that was unexpected. "Where did you hear that?"

"At a dinner party in Baton Rouge. Is it true?" I was really starting to regret turning down that invitation. Though, who knows, Salome was so brazen she might have talked shit about me to my face as well as behind my back.

"Why do you want to know? Did Sophie-Anne send you here to find out?"

"What? No! Why would you—"

"Oh please. Do you take me for a fool? You're the Queen's child, not her errand girl. Why would she have you wait up for me if she didn't have some kind of agenda? You're obviously a spy."

"I'm not! I swear to you, Sophie-Anne didn't send me. She sent one of her human attendants but when I heard you were the one coming, I followed him down and glamoured him to take his place. The Queen doesn't know I'm here."

I studied the girl, trying to determine if she was telling the truth. If she was lying, she was a very good actress. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm worried about Sookie. I'm afraid she's in trouble."

"Why do you care?"

"She's my cousin. Her and her brother and my Gran are just about the only family I have left."

I stared hard at her. "Sookie Stackhouse is your cousin," I repeated carefully.

"Yes." Hadley nodded at me emphatically.

"Why has she never mentioned you before?"

Her face crumpled and she looked down at the floor. "The last time I saw her… I said some things. I was a horrible bitch to her those last couple years, I realize that now, and I've regretted it ever since. I'm not surprised she never told you about me. We didn't have much of a relationship by the time I left. I have to do what I can to protect her now. I owe her that much." She focused back on me. "So tell me, please. Are you in love with her?"

The girl was bursting with information and desperate to confide in someone. I decided it was worth the risk. "I am."

She relaxed marginally. "And you'll watch over her for me? It was bad enough when Andre wanted to turn her, but now Peter wants to add her to his retinue and—"

"What? Slow down. I think you better tell me everything from the beginning." 


End file.
